


Alternative Ending

by PanderrynRose



Series: Snake's Nest [2]
Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: Anal Sex, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon-Typical Violence, Consensual Sex, Doesn't Happen, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Time, M/M, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, but its there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:27:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 48,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25882078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PanderrynRose/pseuds/PanderrynRose
Summary: When your mind won't leave you alone so you give in and write even more content for the story. Why the heck not.  This an alternative ending to Snake's Nest. If you're interested in this, I would say that you can read it on its own, but it'll be confusing as heck for you. Still, it's up to you. If you want to read what comes before this, check out Snake's Nest up to Chap. 19.
Relationships: Akabane Karma/Shiota Nagisa
Series: Snake's Nest [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1878115
Comments: 20
Kudos: 50





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [A Contract Between Killers](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19495276) by [NoteInABottle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoteInABottle/pseuds/NoteInABottle). 



> If you're confused, this is an alternative ending to Snake's Nest. It will be updated alongside that work with its schedule. Also, this work (Series?) was inspired by A Contract Between Killers by NoteInABottle. Here's the work link, and it's so good! Give it a chance if you haven't :https://archiveofourown.org/works/19495276/chapters/46396114

The next week was a hell of its own as Nagisa and his lawyers hammered out his demands in writing, including amnesty for all previous actions taken on his part from all governments who’d had him listed as ‘wanted’ as well as a timeline for them to pay the reparations, and submitted them to the government. The government had caved at the idea of getting to take credit for taking down an international and shady organization, agreeing quickly to Nagisa’s other terms with little fight. Perpetrations were made and Nagisa helped Nakamura brush up on her skills with every spare second he had left in the remaining week of time they’d deemed necessary to put the operation into effect as well as the window of time Nagisa felt it was safe to wait before Lioness was ordered back to base.

While sparring, Nagisa was careful to keep his shirt on so as not to reveal his scars. During one session of sparring, Nakamura approached Nagisa with a simple question. “Have you gone to see Karma?”

Blinking up from the floor of the sparring area in Karma’s house, Nagisa squinted. “I haven’t had time.”

“Do you really think it’s a good idea to leave him alone right now? He’s probably really worried about all of this.” Nakamura insisted, reaching down to offer a hand to Nagisa.

“The only reason I’m not waiting is that he’s the target and we’ve only got so much time. Do I miss him? God, yes. But, I’m more concerned with you right now.” Nagisa said, grabbing the hand and letting her pull him to his feet. “I need to know I’m not going to get you killed by bringing you into this.”

“You’re worried about that?” Nakamura asked, tone confident but worried.

“Very much so. It’s not that I don’t have faith in your training. I know that was successful and competently done. But what worries me is that the place we’re walking into? The men and women who work there have honed their areas of expertise for more years than you. And they will be able to react off the cuff if necessary. You won’t. I want everyone to be safe, and that means spending time training you because your life is worth a lot to both of us. I trust him to recognize that it’s necessary for me to train you rather than go see him. And besides, I don’t want to give my company the satisfaction of seeing me panic, or give them more reason to assume a relationship between us.” Nagisa let his cold assassin’s smile take over. “Fuck them.”

Nakamura didn’t seem convinced. “Are you sure he’s going to be OK with radio silence after waking up? He’s been awake a few days now.”

“I…. I know I should probably talk to him. But he’s injured and I don’t want to aggravate him.” Nagisa sighed, feeling his stomach shrink. “I know it’s probably an excuse, but I’m so worried about everything else that I don’t have time for it right now.” Nagisa turned to pace a bit, before he felt Nakamura gently grasp his shoulder.

“Hey. I understand. But maybe send him a text and let him know you do miss him, even if you’re busy. It can’t be nice to have your S/O ignore you after you wake up in the hospital.” Nakamura smiled. “Now, are you OK? You’re looking more and more tired every day.”

Nagisa let out a long breath as he re-centered himself. “It’s nothing, I’ll be fine.”

Truth told he was lying. He’d been shaking awake every night, with visions of Karma bleeding out, of Karma dying in his arms scared. It hadn’t had a positive effect on his mental state.

“OK, so we need to get back to training.” Nagisa said, grateful when Nakamura simply followed his lead.

After another half-an-hour, Nagisa stumbled off to grab a drink from the fridge. “Do you want anything?”

“No, thanks. I need to head out. You should get some sleep.” Nakamura caught Nagisa’s wince. “What’s up?”

“I… haven’t been sleeping well. I keep seeing…” Nagisa cut himself off, pushing away the vivid image of Karma bleeding out on the steps, his death rattle chasing Nagisa into the waking world.

“Mm, that explains a lot.” Nakamura sighed, gently tugging Nagisa upstairs. “Let’s go. You need to sleep. I want you to be awake when we leave the country.”

“I will not let you get hurt, I promise.” Nagisa prayed fervently that this plan would work. _If things go wrong, it should be me who gets taken out the way I’ve planned it. No one else. Let’s hope everything goes well._

“I know you will, Nagisa. I trust you, but I need you to be at your best then.” Nakamura guided Nagisa to the kitchen.

“I know, I know.” Nagisa grumbled, taking a seat and putting his head down. “I just wish I knew how things will turn out.”

“Sorry, my crystal ball has cracked.” Nakamura said, and Nagisa felt her hand come down on his shoulder. “But if I know anything, I know how strong you’ve been. So I will always trust in you, Nagisa.”

“Thank you, Naka…Rio.” Nagisa said, lifting his head to give her a smile before giving in. “I think I need to go to bed. Be safe as you go home, OK?”

“I will, but you need to promise me that you’ll text Karma. He probably is worried about you. And, y’know, kinda lonely? His parents are out of town, and even if they were home, he’s not on the best terms with them.” Nakamura grinned at Nagisa’s groan.

“Alright, I’ll try.” Nagisa promised, standing up. “I’m going to bed. I’m assuming you can find your own way out?”

“Bitch, I’ve been here more often than you.” Nakamura laughed. “Sleep well, OK?”

Nodding, Nagisa zombie-shuffled to the master bedroom, and reached for Karma’s pillow. _It’s starting to lose his scent._ At that mental note, Nagisa remined himself. “He’ll be back soon enough.” Picking up his phone, he opened his messages and tapped out a simple message.

Hey, I hope you’re doing OK. I’m really busy, but I will see you as soon as I can. I love you, stay safe, OK?

_I miss him._ The thought that accompanied him to the land of sleep struck like a blunt instrument as he forgot to send the message as his body went lax, his phone falling from his hand to the bed and head falling to the pillow as sleep took over.

The next few days flew by as Nagisa and Lioness worked together to train Nakamura about the building, location, bolt holes nearby and where to run if she needed to. They also prepped her on the potential assassins she might bump into. They’d quiz her at the kitchen table as they ate or worked.

Despite him not expecting it, one stuck out to her. “Wait, isn’t that the guy who Fuwa identified as the one who poisoned us during our trip to the resort?”

Nagisa blinked, surprised. “I didn’t know you knew about him. And yes, that’s him. But he did keep us alive despite his client’s request?”

Nakamura scowled. “Are you sure you can trust him?”

“Yes. Unequivocally. I’ve contacted him and he’s agreed to be our standby for you if necessary.” Nagisa said, and looked up to find Nakamura staring at him. “What?”

“You trust him so much—why?” Nakamura asked, leaning forward as she sensed a good story. “Tell me!”

“Easy. He helped me when I got started. He is someone I’d trust no matter what.” Nagisa said, one hand going to rest on the nape of his neck as he glared down at the table while Lioness carefully looked away.

“Alright.” Sensing the tension suddenly running through Nagisa and Lioness, Nakamura simply accepted the trust. “Have you been sleeping better?”

“I’ll sleep once we get this done.” Nagisa said, grabbing his mug of London Fog to take a sip. “Until then, let’s get back to work.”

Lioness chuckled, nodded. “He’s right. At this point, we’re in the crunch phase.”

“Is this how you guys always operate?” Nakamura asked, turning to Lioness. “It seems unsustainable. Wouldn’t you guys collapse after a few missions?”

“Normally, yes. But, to be fair most of us don’t take back to back missions. And it’s not like the company actually cares about its assassins. Mostly they think of us as cash cows. If one dies, they recruit another.” Lioness shrugged. “It’s just the way of our world.”

Nagisa grunted, agreeing. “And we have more important things to worry about now. Lioness, have you contacted them?”

Lioness took a fast swig of her water bottle. “Yes, they’re expecting us. I fully expect that we’ll have more than one fellow assassin on the flight with us, so we’ll need to be able to act for that long.”

Nagisa nodded, glancing over to Lioness. “I’m surprised you’ve been so easily able to avoid supervision so far.”

“I don’t understand it, either. Especially with Cracks as the other attacker. I guess he’s having a harder time than usual getting out of jail.” Lioness blinked, seeming to think. “Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if that terrifying man got to him.”

“Who? Agent Karasuma?” Nagisa and Nakamura grinned.

“Why are you two looking at me like that??” Lioness asked, shrinking back.

“Oh, it’s just that he trained both of us. And we’ve seen him. He’s on his best behavior.” Nagisa said, laughing at how Lioness’s eyes bulged.

“That explains so much about you, Mr. Snake.” Lioness grinned a bit fearfully at Nagisa, before glancing at Nakamura. “I respect and fear both of you. You two should be able to handle the rest of this no problem. Have our travel arrangements changed?”

“No, we leave in eight days.” Nakamura said, smiling. “You’ll ‘pick’ me up the night before, act like you’re holding me hostage to convince the company spies that Nagisa was just playing along until he could leave safely and healed. After that, we’ve got a flight that you booked, right?”

Lioness nodded. “Yes, three tickets in one side. We’ll have you sit near the window so it looks like you’re being controlled by both of us.”

“After we exit, we’ll be picked up by a company car.” Nagisa chimed in. “They tend to be picky about cars and people arriving there.”

“I know. I remember one time that they had an ambulance they used for injured people and had to hide the ambulance all other times.” Lioness grinned, eyes lighting up. “You should have seen the panic they went through when they had to explain the presence of an ambulance around the building 24/7.”

Nakamura nodded, turning to Lioness. “Got any stories about Nagisa you can tell me about?”

Lioness’s green eyes met Nagisa’s blue.

Nagisa winced, shook his head.

Lioness offered an apologetic shake of her head. “No, sorry. His stories are his.”

Nakamura pouted, but nodded. “Alright.”

The meeting continued until Lioness sighed, stood, and stretched out her back. “I probably need to go check in. Nakamura, I respect you. Snake, I fear and respect you. Have a wonderful night, both of you.”

“Bye, Lioness. You’re so cool.” Nakamura flashed a grin at the retreating feline. “Dude, you met so many cool people.”

“Nakamura, your sample size is way too small to make that judgement.” Nagisa said, reaching up to brush his neck.

“OK, why do you keep touching your neck?” Nakamura asked, crossing around Nagisa to gently tug at his hand over his neck. Catching sight of the white raised skin, she started to reach to brush her fingers over it until Nagisa grasped her wrist tightly.

“No.” Nagisa said, the one syllable communicating so much more than it sounded as if it did.

“Oh, Nagisa.” Nakamura’s sorrow came through. “Can I hug you?”

Feeling a bit frozen, Nagisa shook his head. “No. It’s too fresh right now.”

Backing off, Nakamura nodded. “Alright. Do you want company or to be alone?”

“I…. wouldn’t mind some company. I think I’ve been so stuck in my own head at this point.” Nagisa admitted as he took another sip of his drink. “I was wondering if you’d catch me up to date on your life. And tell me some of the bigger stuff going on in the others lives if you know it. I feel out of the loop.”

Nakamura grinned. “How about we order pizza and I catch you up on everything?”

Nagisa returned the smile. “Sounds good.”

Going through the classmates first, Nakamura was animated as she ran down the accomplishments of their classmates. The pizza arrived and the two took a bit of a break to take down a few pieces each.

“Anyway, have you texted Karma? I talked to him the other day and he said he hadn’t heard from you.” Nakamura asked, sliding the blade in quickly to leave Nagisa gasping.

“I…” Checking his phone, Nagisa blushed. “I fell asleep before I hit send. Fuck.” Nagisa groaned as he quickly sent the text. “I meant to, and then when I didn’t hear from him, I thought it best to leave him be.”

“Mmm… I’ve told him the plan. He didn’t seem happy about it.” Nakamura said delicately taking a bite of pizza.

“I’m not surprised by it, if that’s what you’re saying.” Nagisa sighed as exhaustion took over his body and he slumped over on the table for a moment. “I’m sorry, but I don’t want to risk him. I will keep him safe, just like he’s kept me safe. Do you understand?”

“Yes.” Nakamura’s simple acceptance, Nagisa blinked.

“Wait, you do? I thought that you telling me to talk to him was your way of disapproving quietly?” Nagisa asked, watching Nakamura’s face wince.

“I worry that you’re going to accidentally drive a wedge between the two of you. Karma isn’t great when he feels alone or left out.” Nakamura sighed. “But I think you’re doing your best to keep him safe. And I want him to live so I can continue to bug him. I support it, even if I think you’re going to have a HUGE fight after this.”

Nagisa let out a sigh. “We might. It’s possible. But I won’t let him be in danger to protect me. He’s done enough of that. I just want everyone I love to be safe. If that means I have to fight, so be it. After this is done, we’ll figure it out.”

“Alright.” Nakamura smiled. “Thank you.”

“No problem. See you tomorrow.” Nakamura smiled as she stood. “I’m going to head home. Sleep well!”

“Night.” Nagisa called, sighing. _It’s going to be a long week._


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! This is the angsty alternative ending to Snake's Nest. If you're a bit confused, I'd say read up to chapter 19 of Snakes Nest, then come back here! 
> 
> If you're enjoying this, I'd also say that you should check out A Contract Between Killers by NoteInAbottle. Here's the link~: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19495276/chapters/46396114

He wasn’t wrong, the days spent sparring and refining the plan until the three had it down to a T. The day of the start of the operation, Nagisa found himself unable to sleep. Looking up at the ceiling after tossing and turning for all of the night, Nagisa sat up with a sigh. “Fuck it.”

Getting up, Nagisa started to make breakfast for both Lioness and himself. After ten minutes, he felt her presence as she entered the kitchen stealthily. “Food should be ready in another five or so.”

“Thank you. Can’t sleep?” Lioness asked, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

“Nope. It’s been years since I’ve been nervous. I hate this feeling.” Nagisa groaned. “Why is it it’s suddenly come back?”

“Gee, I don’t know because you’re human again? Reptiles don’t care, Snake. But, Nagisa—the person—does. That’s why.” Lioness smiled ruefully. “I remember ‘coming back’ a few years ago. It hurt like hell. I don’t envy you, although I think you’re in a better position than I was. You were way more selective with the jobs you did.”

Nagisa felt sympathy push through him. “I’m sorry it was tough for you. It’s hard enough right now, I can’t imagine your journey back.”

“It’s part of why I want to become a doctor. I’ll save as many lives as I can to balance the scales.” Lionesses looked down; eyes full of memories.

“Is there a way to balance them? I don’t know if there is. I still feel like I’m still cold-blooded monster. How do I get rid of the feeling?” Nagisa turned to see Lioness shake her head.

“What, like you’ll ever feel not awful? I don’t think it’s possible once the first kill is done. It haunts you.” Lioness moved to look out the window. “It’s always going to be there. Now, whether it’s a wound that festers or a motivational drive or something else is up to you.”

“Did you get hit by a stick of wisdom or something? Because you’re spouting pretentious crap like a leaky toilet.” Nagisa grumbled. “You almost remind me of someone.”

Lioness laughed. “Who knows, you get a lot of pretentious stuff thrown at you in this line of work. And I had to take a philosophy class as a base requirement, some of it stuck.”

Laughing a bit, Nagisa started to plate his food. “I’ll let you get what you want.”

“Thanks!” Lioness said, picking up a plate and filling it as Nagisa moved to the table. “Are you going to take any philosophy classes when this is over?”

“Reality is complicated enough right now. I don’t want to question anything else.” Nagisa grumbled, shaking his head. “No, thank you.”

Laughing a bit, Lioness sat down and started to eat. “Since we’re up early, want to watch a movie? We can’t really use a lot of energy because we’ll need it later.”

“Sure.” Nagisa nodded, knowing that if he didn’t do something that his anxiety would kick in and he’d do something stupid. “What to watch?”

“How about a kids movie?” Lioness suggested, carefully watching Nagisa’s face.

“Sure.” Nagisa agreed as the two put their dishes into the sink after eating and making their way to the living room.

At the end of the movie, the two assassins stood. “Ready?” Lioness asked, smiling ferally.

“Of course.” Nagisa hissed as his reptilian mask falling over him to once again take on his persona of Coral Snake. “Let’s go.”

Loading up, the two carefully made it look as if they were searching for Nakamura by driving carefully along several locations and being seen before locating her through a text.

Pulling up so the car moved alongside her, Lioness jumped from the car and dragged her into the back. Nakamura screamed, but there wasn’t anyone close enough to get to her as they drove off. Ignoring Nakamura’s screams as Lioness tied her down while he drove away from the ‘abduction’ point, Nagisa carefully kept an eye out for any local law enforcement. “Easy, spitfire. I won’t promise we won’t hurt you, but we can make it way less painful if you don’t struggle.”

Nakamura struggled, but quieted down with a glare as the trio drove to the airport. Arriving, the two assassins turned to their ‘hostage.’ “Are you going to be good? Or do we need to carry you?”

“I can walk.” Nakamura tone was that of a confident young woman. “It’ll make it easier to run.”

“You run, I’ll shoot. We have a flight waiting for us, Ms. Nakamura. Our agency is very interested in how you knew who to contact in order to get near my associate.” Lioness rumbled a purr. “Now, let’s go.”

Escorting the two through, Nagisa kept a careful eye out for other assassins—he caught sight of a few of them: Hemlock, Scout, and Bruiser were all there—as the three boarded the plane. It was clear that Nakamura was uncomfortable—uncomfortable enough to convince the other assassins to keep their distance as she struggled against her two captors carefully enough so as not to blow their cover. Airport security—having been replaced with agents or informed of the situation. They all carefully ignored Nakamura’s careful attempts at getting help.

“I think I left my identification. I’ll be right back.” Nakamura smiled, trying to pull away from Lioness’s grip.

“Oh, silly. Here it is!” Nagisa offered a grin to the TSA agent as he handed over Nakamura’s ID and ticket. “Sorry, she’s going to a special home to get help and is trying to get out of it.”

The TSA agents’ eyes didn’t even widen from her bored expression. “Oh. OK. Miss, I wish you luck. It can be beaten.”

Passing through security, the trio got to their gate and waited to board. Watching, Nagisa saw the other assassins pass by a few times before their flight called for anyone in group 1 to board. Lioness took the lead, guiding Nakamura as Nagisa carefully tailed her. Getting to their seat at the front of business class. Nagisa and Lioness were both in business wear, while Nakamura looked more like someone who’d decided to be comfortable in sweats and a T-shirt.

As the plane finished final check, and everyone was asked to remain seated, Nagisa glanced around carefully before reaching to squeeze Nakamura’s hand and flash a smile with a sharp edge for camouflage.

Nakamura pulled away, but Nagisa saw her usual confidence flash before seemingly ‘dying’ to keep the three safe by maintaining their cover. The plane ride is nerve wracking, as Nagisa felt the presence of each of the other assassins passing by. While he knew they wouldn’t start anything on the flight—to easy to be captured, not any escape routes and high probability of accidentally poisoning themselves or being seen while trying to administer any type of drug to the drinks or food. He also knew that a few governmental agents were there to back them up if things went catastrophically wrong. Most of the other agents were going to be working on cordoning off the area after the trio got through to the agency.

Getting off the plane, Nagisa guided Nakamura through the airport as Lioness kept up with the two. Spotting the company car, Nagisa made his way over. “Coral Snake checking in. Injuries were severe, took me awhile to heal. My apologies for being gone so long.”

The driver narrowed their eyes. “The company believed you’d gone back to your old life.”

“It wasn’t by choice. They abducted me and my injuries prevented escape. I left as soon as I’d dealt with the problem. I also cleared my name so I’d be able to take on more jobs, including those in Japan.” Nagisa kept his voice monotone, edged. “I also needed to take care of the main problem—two of my former classmates were hunting me. One is in the hospital now, with someone looking after him. The other, I have.”

“Understood.” The driver nodded as Lioness came up. “Ms. It’s good to see you.”

“Let’s just get out of here. The fewer people around us, the better.” Lioness’s sneered at Nakamura’s cut-off whimper. “Shut it, you.”

“We’re waiting for a few other to join us. They’d been sent to check on both of you when it was reported that Akabane was injured. After seeing you two working on it, they were ordered to hold back and observe. They’ll be joining us at the agency. Please take your seats.”

“Understood.” Nagisa guided the other two into the seats of the truck. The driver made his way around the truck and climbed in before he pulled out into traffic. Merging, the car was carefully guided through the hour of a commute to the main business loop of the city. None of the occupants of the vehicle spoke except for the occasional plea from Nakamura to let her go as they seemingly were lost in their thoughts.

Pulling into the building parking lot, the driver turned back to the three. “They’re waiting for you in the main conference room.”

Nodding, Lioness grabbed Nakamura’s wrist tightly. “Let’s go. Make no noise.”

Nakamura turned on the waterworks as tears started to leak down her cheeks before rage took over and she brushed them away. “Bitch.”

Lioness grabbed one of Nagisa’s fangs and held it to her throat. “Don’t try that again, sweetie. This is a warning.” Letting the blade skim across Nakamura’s neck to leave a red mark, Lioness handed Nagisa is fang. “Sorry about that.”

“No need. She should keep her mouth shut.” Flashing his edged grin, Nagisa let Lioness hold onto Nakamura as he led them to the elevators. “If she’s smart, she’ll stick to the script.”

Lioness chuckled and Nakamura blanched, face going white as she started to stare at the ground. Nagisa could practically hear her thoughts. _She’s wondering if she fell for an act. If I’m actually going to kill her._ Keeping the façade of Coral Snake up, Nagisa felt his stomach roll uneasily. _She doesn’t know if I’m going to hurt her. But I can’t reassure her right now, it’s too risky._

Doubling down, Nagisa shot a glare to Nakamura and watched hope drain away. Seeing her spirit start to break was hard, but he knew it’d be worse for her to slip up at this point. _If she gives us away, we’ll all die. Better for her to believe at this point._

Walking into the main meeting room, Nagisa let his cold dead eyes meet the CEO, Left (the main accountant) and Right (the main staffing manager) of the company.

“Sirs and Ma’am.” Nagisa’s droll tone had the three devils smiling.

“Welcome back, Coral. We’d started to worry you’d lost your way.” Right said, blinking. “Why did it take you so long to check in?”

“I needed to not arouse suspicion of my former classmates so I could get away. As it was, I had lost enough blood to be more or less dead to the world for two full weeks. After that, I was locked down. I had to convince them that I was changed. It took a while for them to believe. On the plus side, I know I can act my way out if that ever happens again.” Nagisa’s grin held the same sharp edge of his knives.

“Understood. Well, we’re glad to have you back, Snake. But we do want to know what you intend to do with the woman you brought with you. And why you brought her back instead of killing her.” CEO asked.

“It would be too suspicious for two of my former classmates to turn up dead by what looked like my methods. Luckily, I was able to use the duo of assassins that had been sent to establish my ‘desire’ to help my classmates. Make it appear as if it was the company attacking me instead of me killing to get away from them. After that, I enlisted Lioness to help me kidnap her and ‘take care of’ the problem with a different MO than mine. I assumed you’d prefer that it didn’t get tracked back to me.” Nagisa offered a sharp grin. “However, there is a small piece of me that asks that she is put down gently. For that end, I’ve asked Smog to take care of it.”

The CEO narrowed their eyes. “Wouldn’t it be odd for her to die so far away from home?”

“Smog has agreed to take her home afterwards.” Nagisa offered a grin. “She’s going to accidentally get a bottle of poisoned wine.”

“Well, that works.” Right mumbled before enunciating. “Has Smog come in today?”

A knock sounded on the door in lieu of a response. Smog walked in, taking Nakamura by her forearm. “I arrived a bit early. If you’ll excuse us, we have a tasting to get to.”

The CEO nodded, but seemed displeased. “I would prefer to see the deed done myself. Please commence with her execution now.”

_Fuck, not part of the plan!_ “I...” Nagisa barely got a word in before Smog jumped in.

“Understood.” Smog retrieved a hard-covered case from his jacket and extracted a syringe. Injecting Nakamura before she could pull away, he held her as she collapses into his arms. “Good enough?”

“Not quite. I will require her vitals to be observed until we are certain she is gone. Take her to the lab downstairs.” CEO ordered as Smog picked up Nakamura’s limp body. Smog nodded, carefully hefting her over his shoulder, using the pocket in her sweats to pick her up and pick her pocket for the flash drive containing Ritsu as he exited the room.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone. If you haven't checked out A Contract Between Killers by NoteInABottle, you're missing out! Here's the link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19495276/chapters/46396114

_I can’t give it away now. I have to trust that he didn’t kill her. And that he’ll insert the flash drive for Ritsu to wreak havoc on the system._ Turning back to his boss, Nagisa struggled to keep a level expression. “Is this satisfactory?”

“You have proven yourself. We’ll expect you to take on a mission as soon as you can, but we understand if you need to heal more.” The Left answered, smiling at him benignly.

“Understood.” Hearing a commotion kick up outside the door, Nagisa reached for his blades quietly. “I do have a few questions, though?”

“Of course.” The CEO’s eyes narrowed at the door as a scuffle sounded outside the door. “Do you know what’s going on?”

Nagisa shook his head, grabbing his blades. “I can check it out if you…”

The doors blew open, and a few shots rang out. Dropping, Nagisa hissed at the pain of his shoulder being grazed by a bullet. Dropping to the ground, he saw Lioness do the same thing. Quickly, agents swept in and downed all the rest of the room. Being cuffed and led away, Nagisa struggled and fought until he and Lioness were away from the other three people from the room. Looking to Lioness, he raised an eyebrow. “You OK?”

“Got grazed, but nothing like what I’d expected.” Lioness said, carefully keeping her head down as the two were led away from the other middle management and heads of the company were being led. Quietly, the handcuffs were unlocked as Agent Karasuma came around the corner. “Shiota, what happened?”

“Is Nakamura OK?” Nagisa asked, frantically. “They insisted on having her killed in front of them. It was Smog who did it, and I…”

“She’s fine, Snake.” Smog’s voice spoke. “Just something to make it look like her pulse dropped and that she’d passed.”

“I’ll believe it when I see her wake up, Smog.” Karasuma glared at all three of them. “You’ll all be held until we’re certain she’ll be OK.”

“I never…” Seeing Karasuma’s enraged glare, Nagisa shut his mouth as the man growled.

“I don’t know what you’d do, Coral Snake. This wasn’t the plan. I should have known not to trust you entirely, even if you are a former student of mine.” Karasuma snarled, before motioning for all three to be re-cuffed.

In shock from both the emotional shock and the small graze, Nagisa barely registered the cuffs clicking on or him being led alongside Lioness and Smog to a special armored vehicle. Climbing in, Nagisa felt himself start to spiral. _You can’t be redeemed. You can’t. When they find out what you are, they will turn on you. Nakamura didn’t know she could trust you. She was smart. Karasuma is just as smart—he doesn’t believe you, either._

Feeling a hand land on his shoulder but not entirely registering it despite the prick of pain, Nagisa struggled against the thoughts. _I’ll call Karma. He’ll believe me. He knows I wouldn’t hurt Nakamura. He has to know._

Using that thought to calm his breathing, Nagisa turned to the others with a happy mask on. “Well, tonight’s been a shit show. What do you guys plan on doing after you’re out?”

“I’ve been offered a job near my base in a pharmaceutical company.” Smog’s grin was wide. “I’ll be heading back up there. Lioness?”

“I don’t have a base. I’m going to have to learn quickly to find a new home.” Her eyes were sad as she glanced to Smog. “You’re sure she’s OK?”

“I calculated the dosage to her height and body weight multiple times to make sure she would be. I promise you, I didn’t want to kill her.” Smog’s gaze went worried tinged with slightly offended. “Do you not trust me?”

Nagisa looked his basically surrogate-father in the eyes and shook his head. “No, I do. I just… I hate how things went sideways. I’m glad you had a plan, though. Thank you for saving us back there.”

Smog’s grin went soft, carefully checking over Nagisa with his hands as much as he was able due to the cuffs. “She’s your age, kiddo. As much as I tried not to get attached to the little snake assassin that was foisted on me, I never succeeded well. You’re pretty much my kid. I wouldn’t kill one of your friends.”

Lioness blinked. “You two are really close. I wasn’t sure if it was an act.”  
“Nah, I’ve known Nagisa since…. Well, he never grew much so since he was in middle school.” Smog grinned at Nagisa’s angry grumble. “Oh, come one, kiddo. You know it to be true.”

“I know, but shut it.” Nagisa hissed, turning to look out the window. “It’s not my fault I didn’t grow.”

Smog grinned. “He’s been basically my surrogate kid since his first kill. I took care of him after what happened.”

Lioness nodded, smiling. “I’d heard the story. Thank you for taking care of that bastard.”

Nagisa blinked, surprised. “When did you join the company? I didn’t want to assume.”

Lioness smiled. “You do know we’re about the same age, right?”

“My mom taught me it’s impolite to assume a lady’s age.” Nagisa snarked, having both Smog and Lioness laughing. “But I kinda figured. Anyway, do you want to stay at my base? I might or might not go back there, but it’s a little outside a city with a college. You could commute to and from there. It would save me having to sell it and would give you time to figure shit out.”

Lioness’s eyes went wide and wet. “R…really?” Her voice shook, with joy. “I would love that! Thank you so much.”  
“Not a problem. Consider it a thank you. I couldn’t have done this operation without you.” Nagisa felt the car slow down as they arrived. “Anyway, I’ll figure out my next few moves soon.”

The three were led from the car shortly, into a cheap motel room. Upon reaching the room, the cuffs were removed, and Smog quickly pulled out a first-aid kit. For the first thirty minutes, the three tended wounds in silence. After that, Smog immediately took a seated position on the bed and bowed his head for a nap. Lioness took the chair at the desk, smiling as Nagisa turned to speak with the agent in charge, Nagisa asked “Are we allowed to contact the outside world, or are we on total media shut down?”

“You’re allowed to make calls, but not to any media. Friends or family only.” The woman answered. “We’ll be listening in, though.”

“That’s fine. I’m just checking in on a friend in the hospital.” Nagisa offered up a grin. “Do I need to use the hotel phone?”  
“Yes. We’ll listen in that way.” The woman nodded toward the phone. “Feel free. I’ll do my best to stay unobtrusive to you three, but I have to remain in the room.”

“That’s fine.” Lioness chirped from her seat at the desk. “We understand.”

Smog’s snore echoed as confirmation.

Laughing a bit, Nagisa fished out his phone and searched for the phone number. Dialing the ward, Nagisa was directed to Karma’s room. “Hey, Karma!”

“Nagisa.” Karma’s voice was cold. “What. Did. You. Do. To. Nakamura?”

A cold wave of shock washed over Nagisa as he heard those words. “K… Karma? What do you mean?”

“Why has Nakamura not answered my texts or calls? We made an agreement to be in contact after. Why has she not answered? What did you do to her?” Karma’s voice was enraged, bitter and sad all at once. “Did you kill her?”

“NO!” Nagisa hissed, feeling tears fill his eyes. “I thought you knew me better. I didn’t do anything, she’s just sleeping.”

“I have to wait to confirm this. Nagisa, why didn’t you wait for me to get better? I would have helped you!” Karma growled over the line.

“I couldn’t wait! The company would’ve put another hit on you or on someone else. I had to move fast. You asked me to trust you; why can’t you trust me now?” Nagisa demanded as tears started to fall.

“I need to know that I can, but you’ve proven you can’t be trusted by avoiding talking to me about all of this. Until Nakamura checks in unharmed, I don’t know you at all or trust you.” Karma said, hanging up the phone.

Not registering the dial tone, Nagisa held the receiver in frozen hands. _He doesn’t trust me, either._

Slowly replacing the receiver, Nagisa collapsed to the ground with a ragged breath. Pain emanated from his chest through his body, despite no physical wound. Feeling consciousness start to fade, Nagisa shook as he fell back to the ground.

Blinking awake after what felt like a moment later, Nagisa registered both Smog and Lioness over him on the bed. “’m Ok.” He said, as he started to sit up.

“What happened, Snake? You passed out for an hour!” Lioness asked, helping Nagisa balance enough to help him sit on the bed.

Nagisa shook his head, laughing bitterly. “It’s not something I want to think about. I do have a question for you, though, Lioness.”

“Me? What’s up?” Lioness asked, eyes unsure as she sat on the bed next to him.

“You’re not allergic to fur, right? Because I’ve had to dogs for several years. I don’t want you to get an allergic reaction from walking into my base.” Nagisa offered a shaky grin. “You’ll probably meet the two, anyway.”

“Dogs? Love them. What type?” Lioness exclaimed; eyes wide with glee.

“Good. And Huskies. I’ll make introductions.” Nagisa smiled, feeling steadier. “One of them is a trained guard dog, but if I make the introductions, he should accept you.”

“They’re in a kennel, currently.” Smog spoke, reaching out to tap Nagisa’s wrist twice.

Knowing Smog was checking in, Nagisa tapped once back to confirm. “It’s OK. I’m fine. Sorry about scaring you. Any update on Nakamura?”

“She should wake up in another five minutes.” Smog said, and the trio sat together.

Waiting, Nagisa heard the phone ring. Letting Lioness pick it up, she spoke for a few moments before turning to look at Nagisa. “Him? He’s asleep. I’m sorry. Do you want me to wake him?”

Hearing a negative, she smiled at him. “Not a problem. I’m sure he’ll wake up by the time you get here. Sure, of course. Thank you, Agent.”

Knowing she was talking to Karasuma, Nagisa raised an eyebrow to Lioness. _What are you doing?_

Lioness shook her head, smiling. “Yes sir. Of course. Goodnight.” Hanging up, she turned to the agent in the room. “Is it OK if we talk in private for a moment?”

“I’ll be right outside the door.” The agent replied as they turned to walk out. “If you need anything, let me know.”

Smog offered a grin. “Thank you. We appreciate it. “

As soon as the agent was out of the room, Lioness turned to Nagisa. “Did you bring two forms of identification?”

Reaching into his bag that had been brought with them, Nagisa nodded as he held up a second passport bearing the Canadian markings on it. “I’d be stupid not to.”

“Good. Your agent asked to speak with you, said he owed you an apology. Something tells me you don’t want to hear it.” Lioness phrased the question carefully as a statement so as not to hurt Nagisa.

“Not really, no.” Reaching for his cell phone as it started to ring, Nagisa declined the call. “Thank you.”

“Are you coming with me to your base?” Lioness asked, holding out a hand to him.

Taking it, Nagisa nodded. “You joining us, Smog?”

“Of course. It’s the fastest way home.” Smog stood. “We go to the airport and then rent a car?”

“Sounds good.” Nagisa confirmed, zipping up all the rest of his stuff as Lioness dug through her own bag. “I need to write down some phone numbers, and then turn off my phone. Give me a moment.”

Jotting down several phone numbers, Nagisa turned off his phone. “We ready to head out?”

“Yep!” Lioness said as Smog smiled.

“Well, children, let’s go home.” Smog smiled. “It’ll be so nice to all be home together for once.”

Rolling their eyes together, Nagisa and Lioness both slung their bags over their shoulders. “Do we need to swing back by the hotel room you’d been using?” Nagisa asked as the three went for the door.

“No, I had my stuff brought here and I’ll pick it up downstairs. It won’t take us too long to get home.” Smog smiled, opening the door.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone! Sorry this is a little later than usual, I was out getting a haircut before I went insane. It was a close thing. ;-) 
> 
> Anyway, if you haven't checked out A Contract Between Killers by NoteInABottle, you're missing out. Here's the link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19495276/chapters/46396114

Predictably, the agent was staring at the door from across the way. “Everything OK?”  
“Yes, we’re headed down to meet Agent Karasuma.” Smog explained, leading Lioness and Nagisa downstairs. “We all could use some fresh air.”

“I need to check with…” the agent caught sight of all of their glares. “You’re leaving, aren’t you?”

“We are. Don’t kick up a fuss, tell them we threatened you if necessary. Tell your head agent I’ll be in contact as soon as I feel it’s safe to do so.” Nagisa confirmed, carefully grabbing the walkie-talkie the agent reached for, turning it off and tossing it into the room to land on the bed and closing the door. “Goodbye, and thank you for all your help.”

Turning, he walked away as he heard Smog and Lioness follow. Making their way downstairs, the three climbed aboard the transit bus and let out a sigh of relief as the bus pulled away.

Letting his head lean against the bus wall, Nagisa spoke to his companions. “Wake me when we get to the airport, OK?”

“Sure.” Smog said.

“Sleep well.” Lioness’s hand reached for his.

Taking it, Nagisa let himself fall asleep as the soothing motion of the bus lulled him.

Feeling a hand shaking him, Nagisa sat up. “Yes?”

“We’re here. Your agent has called a couple of times, but we told him we’d let you get into touch once we felt safe enough to do so. He said to tell you that Nakamura asked you to swing by so the two of you could talk. He gave us a phone number for her, since you’re leaving.”

Handing Nagisa his phone with a number on it, Smog offered a few words. “If you don’t want to, you don’t have to.”

“I know.” Taking out his phone and powering it on, Nagisa unlocked it before he dialed the number as the three climbed off the bus.

As it rang, Nagisa felt his mind go a mile a minute. _What do I say to her? I’m sorry? I didn’t mean to scare you? I didn’t want this to go that way! I never would have put her in that danger if I’d known. I should’ve thought of it? Or told her what I was going to say?_

Hearing the phone being picked up, Nagisa braced himself as he followed both of his companions through the airport. “Hello?” Nakamura asked, voice quiet. “Nagisa?”

“Hey, you feeling any better?” Nagisa asked gently, praying the answer was yes.

“Why didn’t you tell me what you were going to say? You scared me, Nagisa.” Nakamura spoke with a tremble in her voice.

“I didn’t know what they were going to ask me. I had a few general ideas. I’m sorry. I never meant to scare you.” Nagisa said, weaving around the crowds.

“I know. Just…. Promise we won’t see each other for a while when we get back to Japan.” Nakamura said, and Nagisa felt the final damning nail being hammered into the coffin.

“No need to worry.” Nagisa reassured. “Be safe, OK?”

“Alright. Goodbye, Nag… wait, Agent Karasuma is back. I thought he was going to talk to you.” Nakamura said, seeming shocked. “He’s asking you to sta…”

Hanging up the phone and turning it off again, Nagisa looked to the other two as they waited in the rental agency. “I’m guessing you both had flights out to various parts of the country?”

“Yep. I’d planned on maybe trying to reconcile with a sister. But I don’t think it would’ve worked.” Lioness said, looking to meet Nagisa’s eyes. “For many of the same reasons you’ve decided to return to your base.”

Nagisa offered a rueful grin. “Note to self, don’t get attached.”

Smog seemed conflicted, gently pulling both of the younger assassins into a hug. “I don’t know, Sn… Nagisa. I got attached to you and I think it’s made my life better. Same with Lioness. You’re my kids now.”

The two younger ex-assassins smiled. “But that’s because…” Nagisa started with Lioness speaking the next words.

“You understand what it means to be in our line of work. You don’t judge us, or fear us.” Lioness looked to Nagisa. “Don’t condemn us for being what we are or had to be.”

“Don’t fall in love with regulars, I guess.” Nagisa said, brushing away a few tears while the others pretended not to notice.

Getting into the rental car they’d all agreed on—a large SUV with enough room for all of them—they started out on the quiet journey back to Nagisa’s home in Canada. Switching out drivers and cars as necessary to avoid being tracked, very little conversation happened between the group as they navigated to Nagisa’s local airport as the driver and navigator usually kept mostly quiet for the person in the back to sleep. What little conversation usually occurred when it was Nagisa’s turn to sleep, as he would wake up several times with fear making it hard for him to breathe from the nightmares he was struggling with. When they finally crossed the border, Nagisa winced as he remembered that he’d brough his bike to the airport. “I brought my bike to the airport. Are you OK riding double when we get there?” Nagisa asked Lioness, who looked at him through the rearview mirror.

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Lioness said before completing the home stretch to the airport. Exchanging the rental vehicles for their personal ones—Smog had left his SUV at the airport as Nagisa had done months earlier—another thought occurred to Nagisa. “I think we need to hit a bike shop to pick up a couple of helmets first. That OK, Lioness?”

Nodding, Lioness swung a leg over the bike. “This thing’s gorgeous. Where’d you get it?”

“I can show you when we pick up some helmets.” Nagisa said, glancing over to Smog as a thought hit him. “Hey, do I get your actual names now? Because if we’re all going clean, it’s going to seriously trip me up if I don’t start thinking of it now.”

Smog rolled his eyes. “Tomas Smith. Nice to meet you, Nagisa and…” Letting himself trail off, he looked to Lioness.

“I’m Maria Reece.” Lioness said, offering a smile. “It’s nice to meet you two, too.”

“Cool. You know my name—it’s Nagisa Shiota. The other name I use here is Nathan Sharpe.” Nagisa offered a grin. “I’m assuming you’ll used either one, just say that Nathan’s my name and Nagisa is a nickname from when I was a super weeb.”

Laughing, both of the other assassins nodded. “We got it.” Lioness said, turning back to Smog who was still chuckling. “You’ll be around by dinner, right?”

“Of course. I’ll drop off you stuff and we can discuss future moves then. See you two later, kids.” Smog said, turning and walking away to collect his own car.

Slinging a leg over the bike, Nagisa held out a hand to Lioness. “Shall we go?”

“We shall.” Lioness teased, slinging a leg over the bike and settling in. After starting the bike and getting out of the airport, Nagisa quickly got to the bike shop. After the two had picked out their helmets, Nagisa started the drive back to his house when he heard Lioness through the helmet com.

“Hey, Snake? Why are you so willing to trust me? Aren’t you worried I’m going to attack or hurt you?” Lioness asked, tone shy as she shifted a bit on the bike.

“If you’d wanted me dead, you’d have already killed me. You would have outed me. So, I trust you because I know I can.” Nagisa answered confidently.

“Alright. Thank you.” Lioness said, leaning into the touch. “Nagisa? Can we be friends? I missed having friends.”

“Sure.” Nagisa said. “I haven’t had a friend who understands in a long time, either.”

Walking through the mud room door, dropping his bag and having Lioness do the same, Nagisa guided her past the entry hall and stairwell into the living room. Looking around his house for the first time in years, Nagisa smiled as he gave Lioness the tour, walking her from the mud room through the entry way and starting with the living room.

His living room held an overstuffed gray couch, a few recliners and a coffee table stained with rings all around the edges. Papers were neatly stacked on one edge, and a large-screen TV sat on top of an entertainment system set against the wall of the house and packed with DVDs. A box set of the Sonic Ninja movies was among one of the most prominent sets of movies on the shelf of his entertainment center, sitting off to the side so it was easy to move when he wanted to re-binge the series.

On the walls, different art pieces hung from around the world. Landscapes, abstracts and fantastical painterly canvases lined the walls above the back of the couch and to the hallway that ran around the back of the house. Turning to his kitchen, he made his way to check through the fridge. “Food is here, feel free to help yourself.” Cracking a yawn, Nagisa gestured to the hallways off the left of the kitchen. “There’s another staircase at the end of the hall, a half-bath next to it, and a garage door in the middle.” Indicating the door on right across from the kitchen, Nagisa said. “That’s the basement door. Basement is pretty much an amalgamation of a med-bay, weapons locker, and office and gym space.” Opening the fridge, Nagisa felt a wave of exhaustion hit him when he realized how much he needed to go shopping. _I need to go get some more fresh produce._

Turning back to the island in the middle of the kitchen, he pulled out the top drawer where he mainly kept his snacks. “Fast snacks are here, feel free to grab one.” Picking up a granola bar, Nagisa opened it and took a bite as he surveyed the kitchen.

Turning back to the living room, he glanced at the furniture, before turning to look at the dining room. A worn oak-wood table big enough to seat six or seven people was surrounded by bar chairs sat by the entrance to the back patio. Outside, slush and snow sat untouched upon the lake shore, and trees filled the skyline. “There’s a lake in the back, but it only rarely freezes enough to be useable for ice skating. We’re backed up to a national park, so if you need to escape, head toward the trees. There are caches of supplies out there, I’m assuming you’d be able to find them.”

Walking back into the mud room, Nagisa picked up his bag and made his way up the main staircase to the second floor. Turning at the top of the stairs, he indicated the two directions. “There’s a bedroom each way.” Indicating to his right, he pointed out the bathroom. “Although, that bedroom is closer to the bathroom you’ll be using. It’s up to you, though. I’m going to go to bed now. Feel free to explore, don’t kill me in my sleep and we’re all good.”

“Sure. Nagisa?” Lioness asked as Nagisa started to climb the stairs.

“Mmm?” Nagisa asked, pausing as he turned back to her.

“Thank you. I get to meet the dogs tonight, right?” She asked as she looked down.

“Should, yes. Smog said he’d bring them by later.” Turning so he faced to the right side of the house, Nagisa walked to the master bedroom. Opening the door and taking a deep breath, Nagisa felt relief wash over him. The familiar scent of his own room was a lull he’d needed since the job had gone wrong. Relaxing fully, he made his way to his bed and flopped down. “I love being home.”

Walking into his bedroom and turning so he could enter the bathroom where his walk-in closet was, he dug his favorite PJS, an old ripped hoodie with the sides cut out and a pair of red and black flannel bottoms, out of his hamper. Tossing them on, Nagisa made his way to bed and collapsed down to get a full nap instead of the fast ten-to-twenty-minute naps he’d been getting on the road. Squirming so his head was in the general vicinity of the headboard and he was swathed in two warm blankets, Nagisa passed out.

Waking up about four hours later, Nagisa climbed out of bed and heard two people laughing along with a few barks.

Launching himself downstairs, Nagisa ran into the kitchen to find both Lioness, Smog and his dogs all happily gathered around a table with pizza.

Before he could say anything, his dogs tackled him with wagging happy tails. “OOOO.”

“Hi, guys.” Reaching up and pulling the dogs to his chest, Nagisa buried his face in their fur. “I’ve missed you. I’m so sorry I’ve been gone for so long. I nearly didn’t come home this time.”

The dogs seemed to pause for a moment to look at each other before resuming the happy cries at their human begging for pets.

Laughing a bit, Nagisa sat up and looked at the other two. “I’m sorry, how long was I out?”

“A few hours. You obviously needed it.” Lioness offered a grin. “So, what’s the plan now?”

“Live a normal life?” Nagisa answered, unsure of what she meant.

“Are you going to contact the agent in charge today or tomorrow?” Lioness clarified, smiling. “We’ll be needed for the persecution whenever the case goes to trial.”

_Damn it, I didn’t think of that._ “I’ll write him day after tomorrow. I just want a break.” Nagisa groaned, lying down on the hardwood kitchen floor. “I feel like I’ve been working since this time last year.”

“Mmm, didn’t you come home for a few moments before jetting off to the last job? It’s no wonder you’re so tired. With the back-to-back missions, the injury and recovery and the entire ‘you can clear your name/come home stuff’ it’s no wonder you’re exhausted.” Smog said.

Hearing a noise like one of his ceramic colorful plates being nudged along a countertop, Nagisa took one deep breath before sitting up and then getting to his feet. Grabbing the empty plate, he filled it with a couple of breadsticks, two slices of pizza and a brownie. Taking his place at the table, he started to eat. “God, I missed this brand. Thanks for picking it up.”

“Not a problem. I had to imitate the newbie.” Smog smiled, gently reaching out to poke Lioness. “What do you think?”

“I like it—a lot—but I’m always going to be partial to the pizza I grew up with.” Lioness held her hands up in mock-surrender as the other two gave her judging expressions. “I like it! I do!”

Giving in and cracking a smile, Nagisa reached out. “I get it. I miss some of the food from where I’d grown up. I used to get ramen with my dad, or go to the local store to pick up snacks. I still miss those.”

Chowing down, Nagisa listened as Smog and Lioness talked calmly about their plans for the future. Idle chatter for him, he let it roll off his back as the full stomach lulled him back to the siren’s song of sleep as he pushed away his plate and folded his head down onto his arms.

“’isa…Nagisa…Kiddo, sleeping here isn’t going to be comfortable.” Smog said gently, reaching to shake Nagisa from his daze.

Sitting upright, Nagisa sighed before he stood and carried his plate to the sink. “I’m going back to bed. Lioness, please feel free to explore, but don’t kill me in my sleep. Cool? Cool.” Shuffling off to the stairs.

“Night, Nagisa.” Smog called. “It was good to see you.”

“Mmm.” Nagisa mumbled, waving back at the two. Putting one foot in front of the other, Nagisa made his way back to bed, this time accompanied by Ranger—his black-and-white guard dog.

Flopping down on his bed, Nagisa let one arm hang off the bed so Ranger could use his head to nudge it back on the bed. When the dog did what he’d been trained to do, Nagisa gently rubbed at the soft ears for a moment before smiling. “I missed you, boy.”

“Mmrwrmmr.oOo.” The dog grumbled, and Nagisa interpreted it as _Go to sleep, you exhausted fool._

“Got itttt….” Nagisa grumbled as he drifted off into a small coma to make up for the near-month long session of nightmares and mostly sleepless nights.

Blinking awake, Nagisa groaned. _I overslept._ He could feel his body’s reluctance to move, the exhaustion dragging him back to the pillow even as his mind started to race. Glancing up at the old-fashioned alarm clock he kept on the nightstand. _Huh…? It’s only six a.m.? I felt like I slept longer…. It’s the second day I’ve been asleep, hasn’t it?_

_S_ itting up and powering on his phone, he groaned at the date before his phone started to vibrate. Dropping it to the bed as messages, calls, emails, and voicemails rolled in, Nagisa stared at it as he waited for it to stop buzzing.

After ten minutes of the phone continually getting messages, Nagisa shook his head and closed his bathroom door. Pulling off his clothes, he tossed them in a wadded ball into the hamper before turning the water all the way to hot. Stepping under the spray, he felt himself fully relax for the first time since his first mission last year. Nearly collapsing into a puddle of Jell-O, Nagisa smiled softly to himself. _I can breathe again._

The thought really struck him. _I’m so relaxed, even more so than I was with Karma and the others. I love being home. I don’t know if I even want to go back._

Feeling that resonate deep inside him, Nagisa realized several things. _Japan isn’t my home anymore—it hasn’t been for years. And even if it were, I wouldn’t want to completely give up my home here. But what about Karma? His job is exclusively in Japan._

The memory of a conversation rubbed against raw nerves. _Then again, he’s made it clear what he thinks of me._

Shaking off the still hotly-painful thought, Nagisa stood. Doing a few simple stretches to push the aches from his body, Nagisa quickly ran though his usual routine before stepping out of the shower ten minutes later. Grabbing some scar cream — despite knowing the scars on his back were much too deep to completely get rid of — Nagisa carefully applied the cream to the parts of his back he was able to reach.

Grabbing a lose t-shirt and tossing it over a pair of gym shorts, Nagisa walked downstairs as he heard a movie playing in the living room. Turning into the living room, he found Lioness as she worked her way through a bowl of buttered popcorn as a familiar movie played on screen. Hunter was lounging at her feet, and Ranger had followed him down from his room.

“Sonic Ninja?” Nagisa asked, raising an eyebrow as Lioness turned to him with an equally humored expression.

“I assumed that it’s one of your favorites as it’s been pulled out so many times there’s a slump where it’s supposed to be. Oh, and welcome back to the land of the living. I was starting to wonder where I could find a mirror to check your breathing. You were asleep for, like, a day and a third. You got a free trial of death. Was it good?”

Nagisa laughed, sitting down next to her and holding out a hand for the popcorn. As Lioness handed over the bowl, he grabbed a handful. “Yes. It was. It’s also nice being home. I almost feel like I can fully breath again.”

“Wow. I didn’t realize you were so stressed out.” Lioness offered a shaky grin. “Better actor than I am, I guess.”

“Maybe too good.” Nagisa agreed, turning back to the movie. “That’s what set everyone off against me.”

“Mmmm…” Lioness said, noncommittally nodding. “Got it. Speaking of, have you called the agent in charge? I would but I don’t have his number.”

“I would, but with all the messages I’ve got rolling in, it’s rendered the phone unusable right now.” Nagisa joked, remembering the phone. “I ended up just giving up and showering. I’ll go check to see if I can use it now.”

Begrudgingly handing the popcorn bowl back to her, Nagisa glanced at the stairs before sitting back down. “After the movie.”

Lioness snorted. “You remind me so much of my sister.”

“Is that a good thing or do I need to run?” Nagisa asked, looking over so he could attempt to read Lioness’s face.

“Its… ultimately good. My sister was the hero of our family. I was the black sheep that ran off.” Lioness said, idly digging out a handful of popcorn and taking a few bites. “She tried to keep us together, but I screwed it up.”

Nagisa winced. “I’m sorry. It must have sucked to leave them.”  
“It was necessary.” Lioness said, darkly looking at the screen as the movie played. “I’m just glad I’m done now.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, how did you get…tangled… up with the company?” Nagisa asked carefully phrasing it so as not to apply too much pressure.

“Had no place to go, was already accused of a murder. Didn’t do it, but hey, what do facts matter when you’re covering for the town princess?” Lioness sighed. “I didn’t have any other option, really. I was offered to join and train in the company through a girl in my juvie hall. Told I could make enough money so my family wouldn’t starve. Didn’t think it through, said yes. Arrived about a month or two after you, I think.”

Shrugging, she reached for the glass of water on the table. “After that, I worked my way up. Got the assignment from the company for you and… well, decided I was tired. I’d been taking a few classes for being a nurse—it’d actually been what I’d wanted to do when I was a kid.”

“Lioness, I don’t know how to tell you this, but we’re both still closer to ‘kid’ than not.” Nagisa said, gently smiling. “I mean, we’re mid-twenties or early twenties, if I’m reading it right.”

“I… you’re right. It’s so weird to think that.” Lioness said, leaning back to look up ceiling. “I guess I just…feel older?”

“I mean, killing people does take its toll… and all the research we have to do into targets and all the awful shit we see…it has to age you somehow.” Nagisa saw flashes pass before his mind’s eye and shuddered at the gallons of blood he’d shed.

Slowly, a twisted cinema began to play in his head, blocking out everything around him as he watched the same clips of Nakamura losing faith in him, of Karma telling him to get lost and of Mr. Karasuma regretting his decision to trust him interspersed with images of bodies.

Shaking a bit, he pulled to the side of his overstuffed gray couch. Closing his eyes only made it worse as his stomach started to riot. Feeling his instincts kick in, Nagisa parried a blow from Lioness, leaping away with a snarled “WHAT THE HELL?”

Falling back onto instinct, Nagisa reached for his fangs and lunged toward Lioness and pinned her down with a knife to her throat as Ranger growled and lunged until Nagisa held up a hand. “Were you actually planning on killing me NOW?”

“NO! I just couldn’t get through to you and you were starting to hyperventilate!” Lioness said, keeping extremely still. “Please, I didn’t want to hurt you. I just needed to knock you out of the spiral.”

“Why should I trust you?” Nagisa hissed. “You’re an assassin.”

“Why should your boyfriend trust you?” Lioness shot back; eyes watery as she stared into Nagisa’s eyes.

_Because I’m trustworthy. And so is Lioness. She’s had ample opportunity to kill me and hasn’t._ Carefully withdrawing the knife, Nagisa backed off. “I’m sorry I questioned you.”

Lioness sat up, moving carefully toward Nagisa. “Do you want a hug or something?”

Letting tears fall, Nagisa shook his head. “Nah, just going to eat my weight in ice cream, then go upstairs and make a few calls. Broken hearts aren’t fun, but they can’t get in the way. I want to see my parents, anyway.”

“Broken heart, huh? I’m sorry. I’ve never had one, but I can’t imagine they’re any fun.” Lioness simply offered, as she sat back on the couch. “But the weight in ice cream still isn’t going to be much.”

Snorting at the unexpected jab, Nagisa laughed for real for a second. “Jerk.”

“That’s me. Now, go get the ice cream.” Lioness said, hopping up. “I’ll buy.”

“You are a goddess.” Nagisa teased, standing. “We should probably pick up some non-junk food, too.”

“No. All the junk food!” Lioness joked, offering Nagisa a hand off the couch.

Taking it, Nagisa didn’t argue with her. “OK, OK. Hey, have you checked the weather recently?”

“Oh, yeah, we’re due for a blizzard sometime in the next three days. They’re advising that everyone get supplies and hunker down.” Lioness responded almost absent mindedly before realizing. “Oh, shit, we’d better get to the grocery.”  
“Let’s go.” Nagisa said, glancing at the dogs. “Hey, did you feed the dogs?”

“Yep. They’ll be fine.” She turned back with a smile. “Trust me?”

“Yeah. Ranger, Hunter. Guard. Be good.” Nagisa smiled back to the dogs. “I’m going to grab my wallet and then my phone. You want to drive, or shall I?”

“OOhhh, I want to drive that giant truck.” Lioness said, pulling on her boots. “You might want to change into more ‘wintery’ clothing too.”

“Gee, no kidding. Thanks, lil’ sis, I was just planning on freezing.” Nagisa called back as he ran up the stairs. Not hearing a response, Nagisa quickly changed into a pair of thermal long johns and threw a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved flannel over his t-shirt he’d pulled back on. Running back down with all the necessary components to go out.

Finding Lioness in the garage, Nagisa clamored into the passenger’s seat. “Let’s go, player 2.”

“Bitch, I’m player one. I’m driving!” Lioness shot back, hitting the garage door opener and roaring out to the road within minutes.

As the two drove, a comfortable silence fell over them. Letting his mind wander for awhile, Nagisa stared out at the woods as they passed by only to be spooked when the radio spoke.

“Incoming call. Accept?” The truck asked, and Nagisa realized he’d automatically turned on Bluetooth when he’d stepped into his car and that his phone was connected.

“Fuck.” He swore, as the truck repeated its question. Looking to Lioness, he held a finger up to his lips and saw her hold a thumbs up for a moment.

“Answer.” Nagisa said, resigned as he leaned against the window. 

Karma’s voice echoed in the near deathly silent truck. “Nagisa?”

“Karma.” Nagisa answered, hoping it would be enough that his voice didn’t shake. “What’s up?”

“Where are you? Are you OK? You’re not hurt, right?” Karma’s low-simmer panic was a slight balm to Nagisa’s burned trust.

“I’m in a safe place, with a friend. I’m not hurt or anything.” Nagisa answered, keeping his voice monotone while allowing his face to twist at the flicker of pain at remembering the word Karma had said to him. “Did Nakamura make it home OK?”

“Huh? Yeah, she did. Why aren’t you back yet? Where are you?” Karma’s voice took on more of an edge.

“I’m somewhere safe. That’s all you need to know.” Nagisa answered, feeling a tear or two slip out as he struggled to keep an even keel. “Stay safe, OK? It’s going to be even more dangerous for your and the other now. My old bosses will probably try to attack you guys if they can’t get to me. And they’ll go for me first, so I’m going to keep my distance until the trial.”  
“Nagisa, please.” Karma said. “Talk to me. Where are you?”

Seeing Lioness point, Nagisa nodded. “I need to go, Karma. I’m picking up supplies for a few days because I’m supposed to be snowed in soon. Bye.”  
“NAGI….” Karma started to scream, but Nagisa ended the call as he turned to Lioness. “I didn’t ask, but are you more the type to cook, or do you warm stuff up?”

“I’m more ‘put it in the microwave and impatiently wait half the time before getting hangry and finding a soda or something while I wait the rest of the time for something to warm up’ type. But I know I should probably learn to cook, though. What about you?”

“I spent a lot of time making food and freezing it. It’s just the cheapest way to live.” Nagisa sighed. “We’ll figure it out. Let’s get a mix of frozen food and fresh stuff, sound good?”

“Just make sure cheddar and sour cream chips are on the list.” Lioness smiled shyly. “They are the best.”

“We can argue everything once we’re done, and no. I hate to be a stereotype, but ketchup chips are amazing.” Nagisa argued, laughing when Lioness’s eyes went big.

“I’ve never really tried any. Let’s get some!” Letting what was fast becoming his little sister run ahead, Nagisa just rolled his eyes.

After two hours of stocking up on everything while they continued to argue what flavor of junk food was best—be it ice cream, chips or cookies—the two loaded their groceries as the argument continued. “No way! There is no way that Neapolitan is better than mint-chip ice cream.” Nagisa said, putting the last bag into the backseat of the truck.

“Yes, it is! It’s three flavors combined into one, it’s a fucking classic!” Lioness shot back, turning her nose up as she grabbed the cart. “I’ll return this, you start the car and contemplate how wrong you are.”

Climbing into the truck, Nagisa let himself glare in jest as Lioness climbed in a few moments later. “Hello, shit taste.”

“Bitch, you can catch these hands when we get back. If your dogs won’t attack, that is.” Lioness pulled out her phone before putting it on the dashboard. “Are you OK?”

“I mean, yeah?” Nagisa asked, confused as he drove.

“I mean, you seemed hurt when…. he… called earlier.” Lioness was careful to keep her words calm. “I know you mentioned a broken heart. It’s the red-head, right?”

“Yeah.” Nagisa spoke softly. “I have to say I think I loved him long before I realized it. Maybe not when we first met, but he was charismatic back then, too.”

“Well, I mean, nothing wrong with growing and changing, but loving someone like that is impressive.” Lioness said, eyes scanning over Nagisa. “It’d be a shame to give it up over some harsh words.”

“It’s not that…” Nagisa snapped, focusing on the road and refusing to look at her. “Look, I’ll worry about it later. It’s a moot point as of right now. We’re going to be snowed in, and I just want a break.”

“Fair enough, how about three days? I’ll ask again later. But you do need a break. Lord knows I’d need one.” Lioness teased, reaching to the back to drag out a box of cookies she’d bought. “Anyway, since we’re in town and not likely to be here much longer, how about I spring for more takeout?”

“Well, if you’re sure you have everything you need, that sounds good. I was just wondering what you’re going to do about clothes. I know when I planned for a mission, I only really paced for a week or so. And given that we’re in a different climate, are you going to be OK for a few days?”

“Mm, I guess I do need to get more clothes.” Lioness groaned. “I hate shopping. I just want to live in tank-tops and jeans or shorts.”

“We can pick some of those up, but I’d suggest getting a few jackets or hoodies or something warm.” Nagisa said, laughing. “How about we do that then head on home? It’s not like we have to worry about stuff melting with how cold it is out right now.”

“Fiiiiiinnnne.” Lioness sighed. “Two, three stores max then we go.” Lioness agreed.

After a few more stops, Nagisa and Lioness were finally headed home. “Anyway, what’re you thinking for takeout? Chinese? Or…?” Nagisa asked, as they rolled through a few stops.

“Mmm… what would you suggest?” Lioness asked, letting Nagisa decide.

“OK, so…” Driving, Nagisa navigated to his favorite Cajun eatery.

After ordering out, Nagisa drove the two home and watched as Lioness snuck bites of the beignets from the dessert section.

After unloading, putting stuff away and eating, Nagisa flopped out onto the couch and pulled out a controller from the drawer in the coffee table. “Wanna play?”

“Ohh…what’ja got?” Lioness asked, joining him on the couch. 

“Depends on the system.” Nagisa responded. “You can check the cabinet under the TV to see which consoles you want and what games I have for said consoles.”

Opening it, Lioness blanched. “Gamer, huh?”

“Needed something to relax, and I’d watched a friend blast through games before.” Nagisa shrugged. “Just pick and let’s play.”

After an hour or so of gaming, Nagisa lapsed back against the couch. “I need to go call Agent Karasuma. But I think it’s like, five p.m. He might have already left.”

“He’s a family man, right? I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d left. But he also strikes me as a dedicated person to his work, so if it’s only now just five, I’d try.” Lioness said, leaning back into the couch before she stretched out and yawned. “And I’m going to go to bed. Sleep well.”

“Night.” Nagisa said, picking up his phone. Dialing, he let his head loll back onto the couch as he moved his feet to rest them on the coffee table. _Just get through this and go to bed._

When the phone rang to a message machine, Nagisa let out a sigh of relief. _Don’t actually have to talk to him. Sweet._

When he was able to start talking, he kept it simple. “Shiota, checking in. Wasn’t sure what was going on with the legal case, so I wanted to….” Hearing the receiver pick up, he mental swore. _Fuck me he’s…_

“Nagisa?” Professor Bitch spoke. “Are you OK? Are you safe?”

“Professor. Didn’t expect you to pick up. And yes, I’m fine. No major injuries and I’m home.” Nagisa smiled at the extremely long breath Professor Bitch blew out in what sounded like a mix of frustration and nerves.

“No ‘major’ injuries? Were you hurt?” Professor Bitch asked, the words catching up with her. “Are you OK?”

“I was just grazed. It’s already patched up and healing.” Nagisa reassured, comforted by the concern. “Aww, were you worried?”

“After what my idiot husband said to you? Yes. I know how much that would’ve sent me into a spiral.” Professor Bitch paused, and Nagisa had a bad feeling that Karasuma was in the room with her.

“I take it your husband is in the room?” Nagisa asked, and laughed when Professor Bitch huffed a ‘yes.’ “Alright, tell him he’s been forgiven. You’re more terrifying revenge than anything I could ever dream up.”

“Aww, you’re sweet.” Nagisa could hear her hold her hand up to the receiver to tell Karasuma the news. “He says that he’s glad you’re OK.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Would you please put me on speaker? I have a few questions for him.” Nagisa heard the click. “I’m on speaker now, right?”

“You are.” Karasuma confirmed. “You’re OK?”

“I’m fine. I was wondering what’s going on legal with the CEO, Left, and Right?” Nagisa asked, and hearing the silence, clarified. “The CEO of the company, and the other two who were taken in. Do you need testimony or anything like that?”

“Did you always call them CEO, Left and Right?” Karasuma snorts. “But yes, we will need testimony. We’re using the attack on Karma to open it up and you were there for that. We’ll also have you testify that they coerced several people who wouldn’t have been assassins otherwise into the job. They kept surprising records on all of their employees, including how they blackmailed them into staying. I don’t know why they did it, but it’s on paper. Ritsu also had one hell of a time logging all the crimes. She’s still working through a lot of it, but they had their fingers in a bunch of different pies. Most of the assassins we captured have been offered plea deals. Many chose to take them, and we’ve process accordingly. It’s going to be awhile before a trial date, though. With so much to do, our lawyers are cursing us.”

“Well, that’s a good thing because I’m going to be snowed in here soon. It might take me a week or two to get back. Just keep me updated, alright?” Nagisa said, listening to the wind whistle over the roof. “I’ve got a blizzard headed my way, so I will need advanced warning to get out if you need me to.”

“Blizzard, huh?” Karasuma asks, and Nagisa could practically hear the gears turning.

“Yeah, no need to look up where I am, though. I’m outside of Vancouver, about an hour and a half outside the city.” Nagisa said, leaning back. “But if anyone shows up anywhere near me, I’m going to flip. Leave me be for a few days.”

“Alright, alright.” Karasuma said. “I can respect that. Just be safe, kiddo, OK?”

“Not a kid, haven’t been one for years. And I will.” Nagisa said, standing up. “Now, I’m going to bed. Goodnight, have a nice day.” Hanging up, Nagisa stretched out before looking to Ranger who was lying at his feet.

“Mmmrpm.” Ranger grumbled, standing and stretching out.

Laughing, Nagisa reached to rub his hands over his dog’s head. “Good boy. C’mon, bed time.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Please make sure to check out the first part of the story in Snake's Nest as well as check out the work that inspired this one : A Contract Between Killers by NoteInABottle. Here's the link to that story: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19495276/chapters/46396114

Navigating upstairs, Nagisa glanced through his old missed calls and messages.

Most of the calls came from Karasuma, but the texts came from Karma.

K: Nagisa. Where are you? 

K: Are you OK? 

K: Seriously, I’m worried. Where are you?  
K: Please answer me. It’s been days since the raid. 

K: I know I screwed up with what I said. Please answer, Nagisa.

K: I’m sorry. I get it! I was wrong. Please answer me. 

K:Nagisa. Please be OK. 

The messages continued, most begging Nagisa to answer until he hit the section after he’d answered Karma’s call.

K: Ok, you’re safe. That’s all I ask. 

K: If you need help, just call me. OK? I know I screwed up, but I’m still here for you. 

K: I will answer if you call me. 

His heart warmed, but it caused the wounded trust to spurt blood as he remembered Karma’s tone, but also caused some pain.

 _‘Until she contacts me, I don’t know you.’ Why couldn’t you trust me, Karma? I wound never want anyone to be hurt._ The emotional side of his brain argued.

 _But there was no way for him to know. What if you hadn’t been acting? If it all had been a ploy? There wasn’t a discernible way for him to know!_ Some small part of him argued.

_You were an excellent assassin. Assassins require some degree of acting. How do you tell if an actor is putting on a performance—say an extended one, for a couple of months—when you don’t know the person well enough to have a comparison for what they’re like? You left each other at the end of middle school. A lot of people develop way more in high school, and even more so in college. Why should Karma know you? He hadn’t seen you in years—years where you were traumatized beyond belief by what you had to do to survive! There’s a reason he was concerned or scared that it’d all been an act. Besides, if you don’t plan on going back to him, does it matter what he thinks of you?_

The emotional side spoke up again as Nagisa made his way up to his bed and laid down lengthwise across it, scrolling through his messages. _But he claimed he loved me, that he knew me. If he really knew me, he would have seen it wasn’t an act. And it still hurts, even if he isn’t going to be a part of my life. Even the best actors would’ve broken character at least once in a months long performance. He should have known better._

The logical side agreed. _That’s a fair point. I would argue, though, that he wasn’t around me constantly. He took breaks—I could’ve, too. He never would have known. As for the ‘loving me’ part, yeah, if he did, he would have trusted me. That’s what love is, boiled down—trust in another person. But it’s also being able to see the person in question. He sees me, knows that I’m an assassin. He recognizes that comes with some past of violence and a history of traumatic moments. He was acting on those instincts._

 _But!_ His emotional side protested, and Nagisa sighed at the two warring sides of himself. Righting himself so he lay on the bed correctly, he pulled his blankets around himself and closed his eyes as he struggled between the two viewpoints.

Waking up the next morning conflicted, Nagisa searched his closet for one of the few things he’d bought for himself over the past four years. His violin—one he’d acquired when in New York after taking out a trafficking ring—Nagisa checked to see if Lioness was asleep. Seeing that she wasn’t in her room, Nagisa pulled out the violin and started to work through the basics. His fingers were a little stiff from a lack of playing, but he quickly found his way back to the soothing sound.

Working through a classic song, Nagisa found himself bored in the middle and, after taking a breath, launched into a few more modern songs. Fine tuning the beat to match his raging thought patterns, Nagisa let everything drift away on notes.

After an hour, Nagisa let the last note trail off quietly. Letting his bow fall, Nagisa took a fully deep breath, only to be shocked when Lioness spoke from behind him. “Dude, you’re amazing!”

Putting away his instrument, Nagisa offered a grin. “Oh, thanks. Sorry, did I wake you up? I’d checked your room and didn’t see you.”

“Nah, I went for a run because it’s finally feasible. I came back to you playing. I had no idea that you could!” Lioness grinned. “Can I put in a request?”

“Mmmmm…. Maybe. If I know it.” Nagisa joked as he carefully fit everything back into its case. “If not, you get to provide the sheet music.”

“Deal!” Lioness cheered, smiling before she hopped off the bed. “I’m going to go find the sheet music to one of my favorite songs.”

“OK.” Nagisa called, as she bounded off.

The next few days were blissful for Nagisa, and he found his footing much steadier when he got the call to come back to Japan for the trial, which was scheduled for a Thursday about five days away.

“We know you’ve been taking a break, but we’ll need you here to prep both you and our legal team. Smog and Lioness are needed as well. Can you get into contact with those two? I’ll try, but their contact information has proven hit-or-miss.” Karasuma said, sounding more than a little stressed.

“Not a problem, will pass it on to them.” Nagisa glanced over his computer, where he had a booking site up so he could browse for tickets. “If I come into the country, is it going to send up alarm bells so that I get detained at the airport?”

Karasuma sighed, exasperated. “It shouldn’t. I won’t actively stop you from coming in whenever you want, as long as it’s a few days out from the trial. I’m assuming you want some privacy.”

“OK. Thanks. I’ll be in touch with the others and have them call you. I’ll talk to you later. Bye.” Nagisa hung up the phone and tossed it to the side. “Hey, Maria!”

Lioness popped her head through his doorway. “What?”

“Karasuma asks that you contact him, you’re needed for the trial. I’m looking at tickets now. Do you want to come with me or do you want to come in later? I plan on going to see my parents, so it might be better for you to come in a day or so later.” Nagisa said, not taking his eyes off his computer.

“Mmm, I’ll let you have a day with your parents then come in. Smog and I are both being asked to come back, correct?” Lioness asked, dramatically flopping onto Nagisa’s bed beside him. “I’ll just ask him when he’s going and join him. It’ll be nice to not have to keep my guard up on an overnight trip.” Lioness bounded to her feet. “Anyway, I’m going to go shopping—I need court clothes. Do you want to come with me?”

 _I’ve got ‘nice’ clothes, but all I’ll remember is the people I killed in them…_ “Yeah, give me a second.” Grabbing his wallet and phone, and putting them in his pockets, Nagisa jogged downstairs and started to gather his winter articles. Walking out to the truck, Nagisa swung into the passengers’ seat as Lioness started the engine. “Ready?”

“Lets go!” Lioness cheered, happily driving to the nearest shopping outlet. Hopping out, Nagisa simply followed Lioness as she pranced between shops. “Ohhhh!” Pointing to an art supply shop, her eyes were wide. “Can you go on to the next store? I want to check this place out.”

“Sure. Have fun.” Nagisa barely got the words out before Lioness was gone, vanished into the store.

Shaking his head, Nagisa continued to the resident menswear store, quickly picking out the necessary items. _Slacks, long-sleeved button-down, waistcoat, jacket…. Tie!_ Adding the last item to the cart, Nagisa sighed as he looked over the dove gray slacks. _I hope this is good enough._

Paying and walking out, Nagisa gave in and walked into his favorite store. Browsing through a few hoodies, Nagisa found a plain black one that was lined with red, yellow and black plaid on the inside. Getting a large one so it draped over the midpoint of his thighs, he grinned. _It has my colors and it’ll cover my sheaths._

Paying for the hoodie and pulling it on, Nagisa relished the warmth Walking out to the truck, Nagisa texted Lioness.

Hey, I’m at the truck. Are you almost done? 

Looking up, Nagisa felt shock hit him as he took in the bags Lioness was loading into the car. “That answers that question. Did you buy out the entire store?”

“No, but I got nearly one of everything.” Lioness didn’t seem to register the sarcasm. “I cannot wait to start drawing again.”

“I can see that. Why don’t I drive home? Did you at least get court clothes?” Nagisa asked, laughing as Lioness blinked slowly.

“Oh…. Right. Yeah, I did.” Lioness grinned at Nagisa’s skeptical snort. “Excuse you, I did.”

“Sure.” Nagisa climbed into the car and put his bags behind him.

Lioness climbed in, holding a sketch pad and a new set of pencils clenched in her palms. Pulling the pencils out, she started to work quietly as Nagisa drove.

Arriving home, Nagisa grabbed his purchases. “I’m going to pack.”

“M’Kay!” Lioness said, starting to lug in the giant bags from the art store.

 _I’m going to come home from Japan after she misses the court date and find her covered in charcoal._ Walking upstairs, Nagisa pulled down his duffle from his closet. _I’m only really planning on being there a few days—one or two to see my parents, and one or two to deal with the trial. After that, it’s home again and I’ll start working on classes in the city._

Throwing in enough clothes for a week, Nagisa booked his ticket for the day after the next and finished packing before continuing one of his few relaxing days before he’d have to deal with the trial and everything that entailed, including having to see his parents for the first time in years.

Soon enough, Nagisa found himself once again on a plane. _At least I’m in first class this time._ Feeling the familiar weightless of take-off, Nagisa leaned back. _I’ve got some time, I might as well sleep._

After making his connection, Nagisa felt some anxiety hit in his stomach before he shrugged it off. _It’s OK. They’ll want to see you. It’s not a big deal._

 _G_ rabbing his violin case down and picking up his backpack, Nagisa put both of them on his back before disembarking. Stopping for a moment to pull out his passport, Nagisa made his way through customs to baggage claim, and to the train before gathering enough courage to dig out his phone.

After sending a text to Lioness and Smog that he’d arrived safely, he clicked over to his contacts. Dialing, he found his stomach tying itself into knots.

“Hello?” His mother answered on the other end.

“Hi, Mom.” Nagisa said, and had to quickly pull the phone away from his ear at the shout that came through.

“NAGISA! Baby, where are you? Are you OK? I can come to you, I’ll be there. Please, let me be there for you!” Hiromi begged through the line, and Nagisa felt a few tears well up.

“No lectures about being reckless, mom?” He teased gently, remembering his mother’s rages.

“No, baby. You never deserved them, and I am so sorry.” Hiromi had Nagisa’s thought track skip a beat.

“Wow, mom. Never thought I’d hear that from you. And to answer your question, I’m on my way from the airport. I was hoping to meet you and dad today, if you have time.”

“Baby! I shouldn’t say this, because my boss is literally standing next to me, but work can fuck off if I get to see you.” Hiromi said, and Nagisa could hear the desperation in her voice.

“Mom!” Nagisa chuckled, astonished. “I’m still a little bit away, we can meet for your lunch period. I don’t want you to get in trouble at work.”

Hearing another voice speak, Nagisa listened as his mom’s boss spoke. “Hiromi, this is the kid you haven’t seen in four years because he’s been on the run?”

“Yep. That’s my baby.” Hiromi spoke, voice sharp. “You understand why I don’t care about work right now?”

“I have a twenty-year-old. I can’t imagine what you’ve been feeling. Go get the kid.” Her boss was magnanimous.

“Thank you so much.” Nagisa listened to his mom’s voice break. “I will be happy to make it up when I can.”

Hearing his mom’s heels tap on whatever floor she was on as she started to speed walk, Nagisa had to laugh. “Your boss is cool.”

“Yes, they are. Now where in the HELL are you?” She demanded as Nagisa laughed.

“I’m on the train from the airport. I have to make a connection, but then I’ll be at the train station if you want to meet me there.” Nagisa said, listening to his mom as she apparently started to run by the tap of her heels.

“I’ll meet your father at the train station and we’ll meet you halfway, baby.” Hiromi decreed, and Nagisa felt warmth fill his chest.

“OK, mom. Meet by the line back to the house?” Nagisa asked, laughing when his mom half-cried half-agreed. “OK, I’ll let you call dad. I’m excited to see you, mom.”

“MMM!” Hiromi hummed, and Nagisa could hear the tears.

“I’ll pick up a packet of tissues.” He teased as his mom let out a watery chuckle and hung up.

Feeling joy pick up, Nagisa felt his leg start to bounce as he waited through a few stops. Dashing off the train, Nagisa half-jogged half-ran through the train station. Stopping once at a convenience store, he grabbed a few packets of tissues before resuming the fast pace. Catching sight of the familiar bright blue and denim blue of his parent’s hair, he pushed himself. “MOM! DAD!” He called, and was unsurprised when both of his parents ran to him and pulled him into their arms as the both started to cry.

Laughing a bit, Nagisa grasped his parents. “Hi. I’ve missed you so much!”

His parents barely said anything, just clutching him tighter.

After a few moments, Nagisa laughed as their train left the station. “Uh, I think we’ve got some time to kill. Wanna get some food?”

His dad was the first to speak. “Sure. How about some ramen?”

Laughing a bit, Nagisa squirmed a bit to get some space, but his mom pulled him back to her. “Mom!”

“No, you get to deal with this for a moment or I’ll break down even more.” Hiromi said, burying her face in Nagisa’s hair. “My beautiful baby boy who I love so, so much. I’m so sorry.”

Reaching up, Nagisa gently brushed away a few loose hairs from his mom’s face. “Let’s sit down and we can talk, OK?”

Sobbing harder and clutching Nagisa, Hiromi nodded. “I’m so sorry, baby. I’ve missed you so much.”

Laughing a bit, he looked to his father. “Help.”

Reaching out, his dad pulled both of them back into his arms. “I’m so glad to have you back, Nagisa. Are you OK?”

The somber tone caught Nagisa by surprise. “Do I not look OK?”  
“You’re the most handsome kid I have, but I can see some of the wear and tear from the last four years.” His dad’s gaze scanned over his face.

He knew his dad could see some of the stress from the years. “I’ll tell you when we get home. The stories of my life aren’t for public consumption”

“Alright.” His dad agreed, stepping back with a cough to clear his throat. “Hiromi, hun, let him go so he can breathe.”

“Breathing is overrated.” Hiromi said, stepping back to take in a teary-eyed look at her son. “I’ve missed you, baby.”

“I can tell.” Nagisa said, wrapping an arm around her waist. “I missed you two, too.”

Realizing his mom wasn’t going to let go, Nagisa sighed. “How about we just wait for the train? I don’t think mom can let go of me for more than two seconds.”

His dad crowded around Nagisa. “It’s not just your mom, Nagisa. I thought….” His father’s voice trailed off and came back small. “I thought we’d lost you for good.”

 _You’re lucky you didn’t._ “No need to worry about it now. I’m home, I’m safe and I’m currently being squished.” Nagisa laughed as both his mom and dad sighed and backed off a little.

Smiles were directed his way as both his parents as the three clung until the next train arrived. Climbing aboard, Nagisa and his parents sat down. As the train ride went by, his parents simply started to talk about mundane everyday things while simultaneously holding onto him as if he’d vanish if they weren’t in contact with them.

Arriving at their stop, Nagisa followed his mom and dad as they led their way to their apartment. After getting inside, Nagisa gently put down his bags and sighed. “It’s like I never left.”

It was true—the apartment hadn’t changed in all the years he’d been away.

Feeling his parents come up behind him, Nagisa offered a smile over his shoulder. “I think we need to talk.”

His mom reached out. “How about we get your stuff away in your room and then we talk? I have so many questions.”

“You don’t have to put me up, I was plan...” Sensing his Mom’s glare, Nagisa held up his hands. “Just don’t grab me, OK?”

Hearing the sharp intake of breath, Nagisa looked back.

His mom was hanging her head in shame. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t tell you what to do. If you want to stay, you have a room here. I don’t want to pressure you. I’m sorry.”

Blinking for a moment, Nagisa felt a warm acceptance fill him. “I’m worried about potential harm coming to you two if I do, but I want to see you. If you’re OK with me staying, I would love to see you.”

“What danger, baby? What’s going on?” Hiromi asked, leading Nagisa to the breakfast nook. “And do you want something to eat?”

“That would be great, I missed the last meal on the plane.” Nagisa offered a grin. “But don’t feel obligated.”

“It’s not a problem at all, baby boy.” Hiromi said, reaching out to cup his cheek in her hand as he simply looked him over. “I never thought I’d get to see you again. I’m so happy you’re home.”

Leaning into the familiar touch, Nagisa held the warmth tight to his chest. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you two again, either.” Tears started to trickled down his face. “I’m so glad I was wrong.”

Hearing his father come up behind him, Nagisa felt himself stiffen a bit in unconscious panic at the feeling of a hand going toward his back. Shaking it off, Nagisa turned to his dad. “I have a lot to tell both of you. If you don’t mind, though, I need you to promise me something first.”

“What’s up, Nagisa?” His dada asked, taking a seat at the other stool in the breakfast nook.

“If you change your mind about me being here after this story, please just say so. I couldn’t handle you two pulling away from me.” Nagisa said, voice breaking quietly on the last word.

“Nagisa. We never could.” His father said, gently turning his son so that they faced each other. “You mom told me what you were forced to do—forced to become. I don’t care. I nearly lost you once when I left the family. It took a magic flying octopus to set me straight that time.” Nagisa felt an unexpected crack of laughter go through him at his father’s description of Koro-Sensei.

His father let him chuckle it out before he continued, running his hand over Nagisa’s scalp as he spoke. “I was so happy when you came back into my life. I finally got to know my son. He was this incredible and kind kid, who wanted to help others. I was so proud, even if I had little to do with your upbringing.” Glancing over to Hiromi, his father winked. “I have to say I like the kid we made.”

“Mmm. He is great.” Hiromi agreed, but Nagisa saw the turmoil in her eyes. “But he raised himself, mostly. I was too busy trying to push my dreams onto him.”

Nagisa blinked, turning to his mom. “When did you…?”

“Realize what I’d done to you, baby?” Hiromi’s watery smile held as she worked on the stovetop. “Well, to explain. I didn’t handle you vanishing well. At all.” Seemingly unaware of her movements, Hiromi brought her hand through her hair. “I started to pull out my hair and I was barely getting any sleep. After a while, the wonderful man I married convinced me that it wasn’t healthy for me to continue that way. He signed me up for therapy and then carried me to the office when I was stubborn.”

“Wait, carried or carried-carried?” Nagisa asked, imagining his dad carrying his mom into the office.

“He didn’t have to carry me in, but I definably panicked at least once in the waiting room. Went on a rant.” A guilty flush covered her cheeks. “Sort of like the ones I went on with you when you tried to fight to be the wonderful guy you are, Nagisa.”

“Ooof.” Nagisa winced, turning to his dad. “How did you deal with it?’

“Let her scream until she calmed down and then asked her if she wanted to leave. She decided to stay.” His father’s water-off-a-duck’s-back personality was soothing compared to what Nagisa knew his mother’s rages could be like. Turning back, he tilted his head at his mom as a way to signify that he was listening.

“While I was there, I was diagnosed as bi-polar. After dealing with that bombshell, I started working on the medication and therapy necessary. Eventually, we found the correct combo and I’ve never been happier. Well, now I’ve never been happier. I have my baby boy back.” Slotting the food she’d made onto one of the three plates, she handed it to Nagisa before she divided the rest between the other two plates. Leaning against the counter, she smiled. “But that can wait for a moment. Let’s eat!”

Nagisa nodded, as the three happily dug in.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Hope you're enjoying this work. If you like this one, you'll probably also like A Contract Between Killers by NoteInABottle. Here's the link! https://archiveofourown.org/works/19495276/chapters/46396114

After stuffing themselves, Nagisa and his parents relocated to the couch. “So, as I was saying.” His mom said, reaching out to pull Nagisa close again. “I’ve never been happier or prouder to have you, baby boy. I am proud of how strong you’ve been, of all you’ve survived. But I was wondering what’s going on? I know there was a big incident and it seemed to start right when your trial ended. How did your trial end, anyway?”

“Oh! I never realized you didn’t know.” Nagisa sighed. “A lot of it is under NDA agreements, but I can give you the general gist. They owed me quite a bit once I was done” Nagisa quickly finger-quoted the next word “’negotiating’ with them.”

The feral grin on his mom’s face nearly mirrored his own. “Good. You deserve it. And I’m assuming that’s all you can tells us?”  
“For right now, yes. If stuff develops, I will let you know.” Nagisa promised.

“What happened that you need to tell us?” His father asked, concerned.

“Well….” Nagisa said, before launching into the story of what had happened at his agency and how he’d helped to bring it down. After a few hours, he wound down and went quite so his parents could digest.

“Wow. Well, that’s another trial I take it you have to attend?” His dad asked, eyes concerned. “Aren’t you going to be in danger if you do?”

“I have a bad feeling I’ll never quite be rid of all of the danger—not as long as I’m sporting the same name and physical appearance.” Nagisa felt his parent’s anxiety sky-rocket. “I don’t know, but I may end up dying my hair or something. Nothing major—It’s not like I can make myself taller naturally. I’ve tried.”

Hearing his father’s chuckle and feeling the arm come around his shoulders, Nagisa continued to gripe. “By the way, which side did I get the short genes from?”

His dad laughed outright then, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, but you’re about your grandmother’s height.”

“Ahh. Well, can’t say it hasn’t been useful.” Nagisa sighed. “Anyway, I might switch out from these clothes. They’re a bit warm for where we are.”

His mother nodded, reaching out to ruffle his hair. “Fair warning, your room isn’t entirely how you left it. I hope you don’t mind.”

_Figures. Ah, well. Not like I planned on staying for super long._ “It’s not a problem at all.” Picking up his bags and violin case, Nagisa made his way back to his room. _Wonder what it’s like now…_

Opening the door, Nagisa carefully shuffled into the room, expecting some of the more personal items to have been put into storage. Instead, he was pleasantly surprised.

_It’s not a girl’s room anymore!_ It was true—all of the lingering remnants of Hiromi’s imaginary little girl—the pink bedspread, the princess posters and the color of the room—had been done away with. In their place was a dark navy bedspread and the room had been painted a forest green. “Whoa.”

Looking around, Nagisa felt his eyes widen when he caught sight of the frame signed Sonic Ninja poster over the desk. _How did she know?_

Looking back to see his mom standing in the door way, Nagisa grinned. “This… is amazing, mom. Thank you. But how did you know about Sonic Ninja?”

“I asked a few of your old classmates for suggestions—one of them mentioned you’d actually left the country to go see the movie with your old teacher.” His mom raised an eyebrow. “Did you really fly to Hawaii in one night?”

Nagisa grinned at the memory, despite the instinctive flinch at knowing it was Karma who’d spilled the beans. “Yeah, it was amazing.”

“I can imagine. If only we could recreate that kind of travel.” Hiromi joked, and Nagisa shook his head. “I wouldn’t be averse to being able to travel the world and go see movies in a paradise.”

“Once this is all over, you could visit Hawaii.” Nagisa joked, sitting on the bed. “I would love to go back for a fun reason again.”

Hiromi didn’t say anything, just smiling as she looked at Nagisa. “Well, when you’re done changing, come on out. We might go get food for dinner, any requests?”

“Hmm…” Nagisa considered. “Let me think about it.”

“Alright. We’re in the living room.” Closing the door behind her as she left, Hiromi allowed Nagisa the privacy to change.

Digging through his duffle bag, Nagisa pulled out a white t-shirt, a short-sleeved button up and a pair of nicer shorts. Tugging off his hoodie and sweats he switched out to the new clothes easily. Walking out into the living room, eh rejoined his parents. “So, that’s what happened to me recently…. What about you?”

His parents let out a few laughs. “Nothing anywhere near as exciting as you.” Hiromi teased, before looking to her husband. “Right?”

“Nope. Nothing as horrific as what you endured. Work, coming home to each other and praying we’d seen you again someday.” His dad said, standing. “Anyway, what were you thinking for food? I still vote ramen.”

Hiromi raised an eyebrow when she saw Nagisa grinned. “You two are weird.”

“You’re realizing this just now?” Nagisa said, grinning as his mom narrowed her eyes at him.

“Fine, I concede. Anyway, ramen is fine by me. Do you guys want to go out or order in?” Hiromi asked, sitting down next to her husband.

“I think it’s better if I’m out of the public eye for a bit.” Nagisa said, imagining being overrun by press. “Is it OK if we order in?”

“Sure. But let’s eat later, OK?” Hid dad reached out and pulled Nagisa to the couch. “Wanna chill out with a movie?”

“God, yes.” Nagisa said, leaning into his dad’s side. “What movie?”

Feeling his phone vibrate, Nagisa pulled it out as his dad seemingly considered. Glancing down, he saw a text notification.

Unlocking the phone, Nagisa opened it.

Karasuma: Shiota, have you made travel plans? We’ll need to have you discuss with our lawyers soon. 

I’m already in Japan. Give me a time and date and I’ll be there.

Karasuma: Alright. Day after tomorrow, at eleven. I’m assuming you’re in the area, so meet us at the courthouse on the front steps. 

Tucking his phone away, Nagisa relaxed against his parents as a movie played. It was a rom-com, one he’d heard about but had never been interested enough to seek out. Watching quietly, he felt his mind slip off to wonder what he would do when he’d see Karma during the trip. _I’ll probably bump into him at the lawyer’s office_

Slowly leaning into his moms’ side, Nagisa’s mind spun. _How do I deal with him? Maybe I should get there a few moments late—so he’d be gone? I just… I don’t know what to say. What can I say? ‘I don’t feel I can trust you after that’? ‘I don’t think we can be together’…? God, I don’t know._

Lioness’s voice echoed through his mind. _“It would be a shame…”_

_I know! I want him as part of my life, but I don’t know how! What do I say ‘I’m leaving because this isn’t my home anymore, come with me’? Like that would work. I don’t have any right to demand that of him. And… if he can’t trust me, I don’t know that I need that right now._

Pushing away the thoughts, Nagisa simply closed his eyes as the movie came to a satisfying conclusion. _Why can’t it just be that easy?_

After a chill afternoon of both of his parents making sure to keep him in eyesight the entire time they were in the apartment, Nagisa leaned into the warmth of a parent on either side. “What were you thinking of ordering in?”

“There’s a pretty good hole-in-the-wall that delivers.” His dad said, sitting up and looking to Hiromi. “Do we have the menu?”

Hiromi shook he head, reaching for a laptop she’d pulled out earlier. “No, but it’s online.”

Handing Nagisa the laptop, his mom stood and stretched. “Once you’ve got your order, hand the thing to your dad. He’ll order for both me and him.”

After ordering and a forty-five-minute wait, the small reunited family was happily eating when his mom launches a deadly question. “So…did you meet anyone while you were away?”

Spluttering, Nagisa nearly choked on his next bite of his chicken cutlet bowl. Coughing a bit, he took a sip to clam down and figure out what to say. _Fuck, how do I tell her I’m not entirely sure I’m straight? Will she kick me out again? I…_

“Nagisa, you must have met some nice boy while you were working.” Hiromi’s words struck Nagisa mute. Looking up, he widened his eyes as a way of asking her his questions.

“Oh, you didn’t know I knew? Nagisa, I’ve known you were probably not attracted to girls since you were little. You never seemed to care much when others your age stated to date—the only time I remember you having an interest in someone was when you started middle school. You had a friend…. His name started with a K or something…. But you would go on and on about him.” Hiromi’s words shocked Nagisa.

_Was I… starting to care for him, even back then?_ Something must have shown on Nagisa’s face, because Hiromi and his father both looked at him with sympathy. “What?” He asked, confused.  
“You look so sad, sweetie. What’s wrong?” Hiromi asked, reaching out to gently take a hand in her own.

Squeezing down, Nagisa sighed. “It’s… It’s just that I was scared about how you might take the news. I know that acceptance for men and women who aren’t heterosexual has been rising in Japan, but I never thought to ask your thoughts on it.”

“Oh, kiddo.” His dad said, reaching out to ruffle his hair. “You are loved no matter what.”

Leaning into the touch, Nagisa grinned. “I’m not entirely sure what I am—I never had time to worry about it. I guess I’m a little behind.”

“It’s not a race.” Hiromi teased, taking a bite of her meal, careful to not drip the broth. “You’ll be fine. I just was wondering.”

“I mean, the most meaningful relationship I had when I was away was basically with a adopted father figure?” Nagisa said, glancing at his dad out of the corner of his eye. “He didn’t replace you, but he helped keep me alive more than once.”

His dad turned away and coughed before turning back. “Then I’m grateful to him for keeping you alive, Kiddo.”

“Same. Do we get to meet him, or do we get to wonder who he is?” Hiromi asked, offering a gentle smile to her son.

“He’s another assassin. Are you really sure you want to meet him?” Nagisa asked, reaching for his phone.

“He kept you alive and he’s important to you. Yes, we want to meet him.” Hiromi said, watching her husband for any sign he disagreed.

“What your mom said, Nagisa.” His dad turned back to his food. “What all is on your schedule?”

“Well, I’ve been asked to meet with lawyers tomorrow. I’ll be out for a little bit, but after that, and after that I’d be free to do something if you’d want. I assume that the trial will happen within the next few days, and after that I’ll be headed back home.” Nagisa offered up a smile.

“Where is home, baby?” Hiromi asked, reaching out. “Is it not close to here?” 

Seeing the sadness in his mom’s eyes, Nagisa winced. “It’s not. I live across the world. In Canada.”

“Canada? That’s so far away.” His dad said, and Nagisa was floored when his father started to rub at his eyes, clearly trying not to cry.

Hiromi nodded, but waved away any concern.

“I…” Nagisa started to explain, only to have his mom hold up a finger. Waiting, Nagisa let his mom regain her composure.

“Nagisa, I know you’ve created a home for yourself; there’s no need to explain it. You’ve explained enough. We love you, and if that’s your home, we support that. We just want you happy; maybe that’s where you need to be.” Reaching out, she ran her thumb along his cheek. “You are amazing, baby.”

Vision blurring, Nagisa leaned into the touch. “I love you, mom.”

“We love you, Nagisa.” His dad spoke, voice breaking a bit on his son’s name. “Anyway. We’ll do what we can to see you, and help you.”

“I should be OK. I plan on going to school again… I want to finish my degree.” Nagisa smiled as his mom grinned proudly at him.

“Sounds good, baby. You’ve got a school in mind?” Hiromi asked, and the conversation steered itself back to topics Nagisa felt more comfortable with even as he felt some niggling doubt in the back of his mind as to what he would do with Karma.

Retiring early, Nagisa went back to his room, changed into PJs and reveled in the déjà vu of curling up in his old bed. _This is so weird._

Listening to his mom and dad as they talked in the living room, Nagisa felt a sharp jab in his chest. _They’re happy, and together! And they accept me. I never thought we’d get here._

Pulling the blanket tighter around his shoulders, Nagisa pressed his head into the pillow. While he couldn’t make out the words, the tone was one of relieved sorrow as they spoke in low tones.

Feeling warmth wash over him, he pressed close to his pillow as he whispered. “Why couldn’t it have been like this always?”

_Because if it hadn’t, you wouldn’t have gone down the path you did. Who knows where you’d be now?_

“Maybe I would be in a better place—you know, not cut up and hurting and an ex-assassin.” He hissed to himself, driving off the thought.

_Maybe. That’s always a chance. But who knows? Life has a way of fucking up even the best lives—you know this. And besides, it’s not like you can go back and redo this all._

Feeling the fight go out of him, Nagisa sighed. “That’s not wrong. I just wish I knew what it would have been like to have this normality.”

_Well, it’s not as if you don’t have it now. Enjoy it now. No use in crying over spilled milk. At this point, it’s better to figure out what you’re going to do about Karma._

Having no easy answer, Nagisa simply closed his eyes and let himself fall to sleep.

Blinking awake to the sound of his alarm, fully rested, Nagisa nearly shot up. Grabbing his phone, he groaned. “Don’t wanna…”

Flopping back onto the mattress with phone in hand, Nagisa sighed. “I’ll get up in five minutes.”

Hitting the snooze button, Nagisa curled back up.

After repeating the action five times, Nagisa reluctantly climbed to his feet. Switching into a pair of casual clothes, Nagisa stretched as he walked into the living room. “Good morning.”

“Morning, sweetie.” His mother called from the breakfast nook. “There’s food ready, if you want any.”

“You are the best.” Nagisa smiled, looking around the room. “Is dad not awake?”

“No, he ended up processing a lot of work last night as it came in. So, he’s sleeping in. You have plans?” His mom asked, taking a bite of her eggs.

“I might swing by my old classroom building, drop off an offering. Well, if they haven’t ended up using the old building for something else.” Nagisa said, reaching for his phone. “I need to check on that.”

“Alright. I might go into work for a half-day if you’re going to be busy.” Hiromi grinned at him. “But I’ll see you after that?”

“Sounds good, mom.” Nagisa offered a smile. “Any good florists around here?”

“There’s one just up the street. They do good work. Your mom really enjoyed the flowers I got for our anniversary.” His father said, walking up and ruffling Nagisa’s hair.

Looking up at his dad from under the fringe of his hair, Nagisa offered up a grin. “Thanks, Dad.”

“Mm.” His dad said, continuing to the coffee pot and pouring himself a mug. “I’ll likely be working as well. It sounds like we plan on meeting up around the end of work, right?”

“Yeah. Didn’t expect you to be up, sweetie.” Reaching out, his mom gently pulled her husband into a kiss. “See you after work?”

“Mm. Yeh.” His Dad smiled. “I’m going to go get ready. Nagisa, be careful, OK?”

“Aww, there’s nothing here that could take me on.” Nagisa said, joking but not entirely.

“Mm, not gonna think about that statement too much.” His dad said absently wandering out of the room.

Snorting, Nagisa finished off his breakfast before climbing to his feet to carry his dishes to the sink. “I’m going to go on out. Do you want my number so you can call and check on me?”

“I’ve already got it, baby boy.” His mom picked up her cellphone, thumbing on the screen until she pulled up her call long. “I will be checking on you.”

“M’kay.” Nagisa agreed, before realizing something. “I don’t have a way to get back in. Do you have a spare house key that I could have?’

“Oh, sure.” Hiromi said, digging in her junk drawer. “Heads up.” She said, gently tossing him the key.

“Thanks, mom. I’ll see you later.” Nagisa offered a grin before picking up his phone. Sending a fast text to Ritsu, Nagisa carefully gathered up his wallet, phone, jacket and key.

Hey, has the class used the building for anything other than a memorial since I’ve been gone? Like, would I be interrupting something if I were to go up there? 

Ritsu: No, the building is still the private property of Class 3-E. Feel free to visit, I’m sure Sensei would be happy to see you!

Thank you, Ritsu. 

With that bit of information settled, Nagisa followed his old path to school after picking out some flowers. Avoiding thinking too hard about what it was like the last time he’d been there, Nagisa made his way up the overgrown dirt trail and entered the clearing. The building stood, as if nothing had changed since Nagisa had been there last. _It’s like… I’ve walked back in time to when I was in middle school._

Walking into the classroom, Nagisa felt his heart pound harder. _Just say ‘hi’ then leave to meet the others at the court house. Sensei will understand that you’re busy._

Making his way to the front, Nagisa gently place the bouquet on the lectern. “Man, I don’t think I’ve seen flowers here since…. Reaper 2.0 Fu..” Realizing he’d been about to curse, Nagisa curbed his tongue. “I didn’t mean to bring back bad memories of him. But hey, little else you can get someone once they’ve passed.”

Nagisa wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he could practically hear Koro-Sensei’s laughter.

Offering up a smile, Nagisa sat on the edge of his desk. “I was just coming by to say ‘hi’ and then I’ve got to head to the courthouse to work on the case against my company. I wanted to thank you for talking to me—for kicking me out of the slump. I’m not going to be in Japan anymore, but I think that’s kinda just a natural consequence. This hasn’t been my home for a long time. But, I’m going to create a new one.”

Leaning back, he looked up at the ceiling. “It’s going to be interesting, Sensei. I have a new place to be. And I think it’s healthier than trying to live up to old expectations here.”

Standing, Nagisa bowed to where he knew Koro-sensei had stood for years. “I’ll be seeing you, sir.”

Standing, Nagisa heard the crack of a twig being stepped on outside. Feeling instinct kick in, Nagisa carefully pressed his back to the wall outside the classroom. Looking through the doorway, Nagisa caught sight of a familiar silhouette. Sugino was walking up to the building.

_Oh, thank god. It’s not Karma. Or, you know, an assassin trying to kill me._ Unsticking himself from the wall, Nagisa walked out toward Sugino. “Hey.”

Sugino grinned. “Hey. I was hoping to run into you. We didn’t really get a chance to talk when you came back. Want to hang out for a little while and play catch?”

“It’s nice to know that your love for baseball never changed.” Nagisa said, tucking his hands into his pockets. “But I don’t have a glove and I don’t fancy having to catch the pitches you throw bare-handed.”

Snorting, Sugino walked to the equipment shed. “As if I’d let you. Poor lil’ baby shouldn’t break his hands playing with me.”

“I can and will happily kick your ass if you call me that again, no warning next time.” Nagisa said, picking up a glove next to the door. “Now, ball?”

Obliging with a laugh, Sugino tossed Nagisa the ball as the two walked to the open field area next to the building. “Tell me about everything. I’ve missed one of my best friends.”

“I’ve missed you, too.” Nagisa said, grinning. “It’s been a hell of a few years. Had to deal with Takaoka, killed a few dozen people and then, to cap it off, got dragged back home with no idea that I’d be coming back.”

“The sarcasm has gotten stronger, young padawan.” Sugino teased, tossing the ball gently to Nagisa. “Are you doing OK, otherwise?”

“Yeah… strangely, I think I am. I’ve accepted what I was, and what I could be going forward. It’s going to be a bit of a change not having to fly out to a new location every few weeks.” Nagisa tossed the ball back at an appropriate clip. “I cannot wait to head back home.”

“I take it that you don’t plan on living in Japan, then?” Sugino asked, eyes seemingly sad.

“I… yeah, no. I think it would be too confining.” Nagisa said, rocking back on his heels before rocking forward. “I miss having my own space, and I think that I still kind of think of the world as dangerous outside my home.”

Sugino frowned. “I mean, that doesn’t sound healthy?”

“Yeah, but it’s practical at this point. I have to assume that I’ve got a target on my back, and I cant assume that those I care about are on the same level as those coming after me.” Nagisa said, watching Sugino.

“Why not? We were trained as assassins, too.” Sugino pointed out, palming the ball in his glove.

“Maybe, but you haven’t been living that way for years. It’s a muscle—it atrophies with disuse. And it’d be dangerous for me to be around you just because I want to. I’d rather have a new start as possible, even if I’m going to be monitored.” Nagisa sighed as he motioned to the ball. “You going to throw that?”

“Oh, yeah.” Pitching the ball, Sugino watched to make sure he didn’t injure Nagisa. “You’re going to be monitored?”

“Yeah, part of the agreement with the governments who were going to be sued. I mean, they can’t just let an ex-assassin just walk free. I’m a danger to a lot of people if they tick me off.” Nagisa tried to play it off, but Sugino cottoned on to how much it bothered him.

“It doesn’t mean that far, but the way you’ve lived for the past few years would make me think the same thing.” Sugino said, before moving to a pitching stance. “Heads up.”

Catching the fast ball, Nagisa had to grin. “Hmm, think I recognize that stance. How have you been? I didn’t have much time to keep up with sports.”

“I’m rocking a stellar record of strikeouts, and all other teams tremble in fear when I’m put on the mound.” Sugino joked, grinning. “I’m swimming in endorsements and easy women.”

“No, really, how are you?” Nagisa asked, and laughed when Sugino shrugged.

“I’m really happy with how I’ve improved since I’ve joined the pros, my team is pretty damn awesome both on and off field and I’m living comfortably with my fiancée.” Sugino smiled. “Compared to you, I’ve been living the dream.”

“It does sound good. Fiancée? How long until the wedding?” Nagisa asked, and watched Sugino blue-screen.

“I… trust her to tell me these things.” Sugino answered, rolling his shoulders to stretch. “Anyway, if you’re not back to stay, what’s going on?”

“Oh, trial coming up. I’m a part of the witness group.” Glancing at his watch, Nagisa nearly blanched. “It’s nearly ten-thirty?”

“Oh, yeah.” Sugino said, after checking his phone. “Looks like. Why?”

“I need to head on out. I’m sorry we couldn’t hang out longer.” Nagisa answered, jogging toward the trail down the mountain. “See you later?’  
“Sure, just let me know when!” Sugino called, as Nagisa ran down the mountain at full speed.

Making his way back to the train, Nagisa barely made the correct train before collapsing on the seat. Pulling out his phone, he checked the time. _Fifteen minutes home, ten minutes to change and then I need to catch the next train to the courthouse._


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone! This is the alternative ending to Snakes Nest. If you're a little confused, go back to that story and read up to Chapter 19. 
> 
> If you want another story, I'd recommend A Contract Between Killers by NoteInABottle. It was the inspiration for both Snake's Nest and this ending. https://archiveofourown.org/works/19495276/chapters/46396114

Making all of his deadlines, Nagisa arrived at the courthouse on time, pressed and presentable. Climbing up the steps to the courthouse, he saw Karasuma standing at the entrance waiting for him. “Sir.”

“Shiota.” Karasuma responded, all business. “I’m glad you’re still punctual.”

“It’s a good habit to have.” Nagisa replied, cautiously neutral. “Where are we meeting?”

“Follow me.” Karasuma said, turning away. “We’ll be meeting with the lawyer here in a few moments. They’re finishing up with their last witness.”

“Alright.” Nagisa said, carefully scanning the hallway as he felt something hit. “Who all is here?”

“Lioness and Smog should both be joining us. You’re probably sensing them.” Karasuma answered. “Nakamura will also join us.”  
Guilt crept up his spine, but Nagisa maintained a poker face. “Is that the best idea? To have Nakamura face some of the people who traumatized her?”

“She requested it.” Karasuma stated, looking over. “Is that alright?”

“No skin off my nose.” Nagisa said, mentally panicking. _Maybe I can stay away from her? I don’t want to hurt her anymore._

Hearing the door open, Nagisa slapped on his ‘neutral’ expression as the young lawyer from his case stepped out. “Good afternoon, gentlemen.”

Nodding to her, Nagisa followed Karasuma into the office. There was a wooden desk with enough paperwork packed on top of it that Nagisa started to feel bad for the young lawyer. _I’m surprised she doesn’t get buried under all that._ Seeing the name plate, Nagisa memorized the name. _Chiyo Hayashi._

“You two are a little early. We’re still waiting on the others, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get some of the work done while we wait.” Hayashi sighed, grabbing a water bottle she kept behind the desk and taking a fast drink. “Mr. Shiota, if you would relay the situation as it went down for you, please.”

Nodding, Nagisa took the chair with the best defensible position and began to speak. “Well, the operation began the day before, when Lioness and myself staged a kidnapping of Ms. Nakamura.”

As Nagisa spoke, he was careful to tamp down on the painful emotions of relaying just how much it had affected him when Nakamura had dropped into Smog’s arms, seemingly dead. He was aware of the others entering the room, but was too focused on his story to stop. “After that, the building was swept. My old bosses were taken into custody, as were most of the middle management. From what I’ve understood, many of the assassins were offered positions in black-ops-esque teams all over the world, while avoiding the majority of consequences from their past actions. If they didn’t accept, they were sent to jail. I have not been informed how many took up the governments on their deal.”

Hayashi nodded, shuffling papers around her desk as she glanced at them. “That’s most of what I’d gotten from the gov. Anything else to add?”

“Mmm… not that I can think of right now.” Nagisa stated, mind circling. “If I have anything else, do you want me to email you?”

“Yes, please.” The young woman seemed to dive into a haphazard stack of papers to her left, unearthing a small cluster of cards. “Here, please feel free to reach out if you can think of anything else.”

Taking the card, Nagisa nodded. _I might reach out to clarify a few things surrounding the agreement with the government._

Standing to stretch, Nagisa flashed a grin to both Lioness and Smog. “How was your trip?”

“Mmm, long.” Lioness groused, offering up a half-asleep grin. “But we got here in time.”

Noting the position that Lioness and Smog had taken up, Nagisa felt warmth course through him. _They surrounded me to cut me off from the others._

It was true—Lioness and Smog had taken the seats closest to him, blocking off Nakamura and Karma from being physically close to him.

Lioness turned back to the lawyer. “What do you need from Smog and myself?”

“Well…” The young lawyer turned to Smog. “You’re Smog, correct? Legal name Tomas Smith, currently in Witness Protect under the name Trystan Samuel.”

“That’s me.” Smog’s smile was gentle as he nodded.

“Alright. I need to understand your part of the plan. You as well, Miss….?”

“Mary Radley, originally Maria Reece.” Lioness offered. “I used the call name as ‘lioness’ during my time at the company.”

“Ah, the one who shot me.” Karma’s voice was a bit of a shock to the room.

Glancing over, Nagisa watched as Karma turned to Lioness. “Why did you attack me?”

“Because the next assassin would’ve actually killed you.” Lioness didn’t sugar coat her words. “I owed Snake quite a bit. So I wasn’t going to kill you. You were shot. Get over it.”

Snorting, Nagisa nearly broke into laughter as Karma’s face went blank. Lioness then turned back to the lawyer and continued to recount her part in their small play. Smog went next, and then Nakamura and Karma. Hours passed as Nagisa listened to the lawyer work out all of their testimony, what each person needed to do to lead to conviction.

As the meeting wound up, Nagisa’s anxiety about seeing both Nakamura and Karma began to eat at him until he quietly flashed a few signs to both Lioness and Smog about him leaving early and to text him.

Pulling out his phone, he sent a fast text to his mom to have her call him.

This meeting has dragged on forever, please bail me out and call me. 

Nanoseconds after seeing that the text had been read, Nagisa felt his phone vibrate against his leg. Making a show of picking it up, he hurried out into the hallway with a relieved sigh. Answering, he grinned. “Hello?”

“Hi, baby. Your dad and I are waiting on you to get home. We were hoping to talk to you about a few things.” His mom’s voice came over the line. “Are you headed back soon?”

“Leaving now.” Nagisa replied, speed walking away from the door as he heard it open. “See you soon.”

Walking to the doorway, he waved to Hayashi. “I’ve got to go. Goodnight.”

Moving away before the word could sink in, Nagisa carefully blended in with the work crow leaving for the day. While it wouldn’t be enough to fool Lioness or Smog, Nagisa knew that he could escape civilian eyes even if they had been trained.

Making his way out of the building, Nagisa felt the silent approach of the other assassins as he waited at the train station. “Thank you.”

“Not a problem, child.” Smog teases, running a hand over Nagisa’s scalp.

“I still think you should talk to him.” Lioness groused, but relented when both of the men glared. “Alright, but…”

“I know, Lioness. I just…. I don’t know what to say? And I’m mostly here to spend time with my parents.” Nagisa sighed. “I need to figure out where I belong at this point, and I want to talk to them after I’ve done that.”

“Where you belong? Aren’t you being a bit dramatic?” Lioness asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No, I’m not.” Nagisa said, temper fraying a bit. “I’m thinking of moving to a new area because I will be a danger to those around me if I stay with this identity. You know how America has ‘witness protection’? I’m thinking that it might be the safest thing for myself and those I care about if I change my identity. And if I do, I can’t just ask people to uproot their lives to come with me.”

“I guess? But shouldn’t you explain that to him? It’s kind of childish to just avoid him.” Lioness said, tone gentle. “You do care about him, right?”

“Enough to choose to be apart from him if it’ll keep him alive. Maybe he’ll hate me for it—that’s fair. I understand. But I can’t put everyone’s lives on the line by staying here. The company knows my name, my identity. Putting them in jail won’t do much to slow them down. It may be that I need to leave to keep people safe.”

“Wouldn’t it just make them easier to target?” Lioness asked, skeptical.

“I mean, if I’m not here, they wouldn’t have a reason to target them.” Nagisa said, sighing as he felt the weight of his potential decision weighing him down. “It would be safer, but I’d have to leave them all again. On the plus side, I’d be living a better life than the last time I left.”

“On the bad side, though, you’d lose them all again.” Lioness said, eyes sad. “That seems counter to what they want.”

“Maybe. I know this isn’t the ending they wanted. They wanted me to come back and be able to live my life, without assassination. I think that if I’m living a good life, even if I’m not near them. That was the goal, right?” Nagisa struggled around the lump in his throat. “I just wanted to let my parents know I was OK, after it was revealed I was alive on TV.”

“I guess.” Lioness nodded. “What are you going to tell them? Your parents?”

“I don’t know. I was hoping to talk to Ms. Hayashi about the potential of a new identity. And see if I think it’ll be safe for all of us if I stay. If it’s safe, there’s no reason to go. But if not…. A new identity was a part of the agreement we came to, but I was more worried about the operation ahead of us then.” Climbing on the train, Nagisa glanced out the window.

Lioness and Smog followed, standing next to him. Knowing better than to discuss assassination and their former line of work in public—or the consequence therein—both kept close while they followed Nagisa off the train. Once they were in a less populated area, the conversation resumed as they walked.

“Well, if you’re sure, I’ll help you as much as I can.” Lioness said, slinging an arm around his shoulders.

“Thanks. Anyway, where are you guys staying?” Nagisa asked, glancing around as he felt some of the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

“Just… a bit away from the courthouse.” Lioness’s tone slowed as she nonchalantly glanced around. “Mmmm… back about two meters. It looks like an ambusher. No obvious weapons, but the way he’s hovering his hand over his left pocket, I would hazard he has something small.”

“Easy enough to deal with.” Nagisa said, flashing a grin back.

“True enough.” Smog’s answering grin reassured him. “There’s an alley up ahead. Turn into it. We jump there.”

“They might not follow if they’re outnumbered. You two continue walking, see if he follows me. I can handle him for a few minutes on my own. Double back and we’ll pin him down.” Nagisa said, glancing over his shoulder.

“That’s a good plan. Can you handle it?” Lioness asked, jokingly nudging Nagisa.

“Shhhhh…” Nagisa teased back, using his shoulder to push at her before he let his voice freeze over. “I’ve got it. Get the weapon away, see what they want. Do nothing else, we can’t risk harming him.”

“Will do.” Both of the others confirmed as they let Nagisa walk down the alleyway and they walked by.

Hearing the footsteps following him pick up, Nagisa spun around and confronted the man. Seeing the weapon—a small pistol—pulled out, Nagisa ducked behind a dumpster as the man fired, only waiting a nanosecond before seeing the feet come around the edge of the dumpster. Slamming his leg out, Nagisa tripped the man before wrangling the arms and knocking away the pistol. “Who sent you?”

The man hissed as Nagisa looked to see Smog and Lioness both running toward him.

“We heard a gunshot. Are you…?” Smog asked, before his eyes did a fast sweep over Nagisa.

“I’m fine. No need to worry, but we’ll need to hurry. Cops will have been called.” Flashing a genuine smile at them, Nagisa finished grappling the man who’d given up when the other arrived. “Who are you, why are you after me?”

“Well, as you expected, your old bosses contracted out. They said in the contract to tell you they’d consider the debt paid should you die, and that they’d leave everyone else alone. However, the higher-ups at my company asked me to deliver a message: Thank you for taking out the competition. As compensation, we’ll only take this one shot at you. But if hits come up on your friends? No such guarantee.”

Fear and rage filled Nagisa, but he kept a straight face. “Pass on my gratitude to your bosses; I’m grateful not to die. But be warned: should any of my former classmates or family member turn up dead, I have no problem leaving retirement to take out another company.”

The man nodded. “Understood, but maybe it’s not wise to threaten an entire company.” _But I couldn’t protect Karma when he was next to me. What am I going to do if they target multiple people?_

“Bitch, he just did. And he’ll have backup if he needs it.” Lioness snarled, eyes sharp.

Flashing her a small smile of gratitude, Nagisa carefully stood and backed off the man. “Get the hell out of here. If I catch sight of you again, I will make sure that the next time is more painful.”

The man stood, carefully bending to retrieve his weapon. When the trio moved to block him, he held his hands up. “I don’t think any of you want to be caught with a weapon here. I will not fire—it’s three on one and you’re all highly talented. You have nothing to fear from me.”

“Except a bullet to the face.” Lioness grumbled as Nagisa moved in front of the man.

Looking into his eyes, Nagisa watched. “Say that again, and keep eye contact.”

“I mean you no harm and will leave once I’ve secured my weapon.” The man’s voice didn’t tremble, and his eyes flicked to the right.

_He’s telling the truth._ Nodding to both of the others, Nagisa carefully re-circled the man and moved away. “Get your weapon and get the hell out of here.”

The man grabbed his weapon and quickly walked away. Hearing sirens, the three quickly followed the mans lead and left the alley, walking as if everything was normal. Seeing the cop cars go by, Nagisa sighed in relief when they didn’t get stopped. “I need to go meet up with my parents. I think we’re probably going to get food. I’ll ask them if they’re OK if you guys join. They’ve expressed interest in meeting you, but I don’t know if they realize that you’re also my ex-coworkers.”

Smog let out a chuckle. “Maybe not a good idea to surprise them, then. We’ll head back to the hotel, if you call we’ll join you. If not, what do you say to some sushi, Mary?”

“Sounds good.” Lioness smiled. “See you later, OK?”

“See ya.” Nagisa said, as the group broke off to walk their respective paths.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! :-) 
> 
> If you're enjoying this story, I'd say you should check out A Contract Between Killers by NoteInABottle. Here's the link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19495276/chapters/46396114

Pulling out his phone, he called his parents. “Hey, I’m on my way. Just got a bit held up.”

“How about we meet at the restaurant?” His dad asked, and Nagisa could hear his mom agreeing in the background.

“Sure. Where did you want to go?” Nagisa asked, pausing where he stood.

“How about that steakhouse that’s just up the road from the house?” His mom called from the background.

“Sure.” Nagisa laughed as his dad sighed.

“She could’ve just asked for the phone…anyway, be there soon, kiddo.” His dad seemed to hang up quickly, and Nagisa raised an eyebrow as he looked at the phone. _OK?_

Snorting, Nagisa picked up the pace as he walked toward the steakhouse. Seeing his parents outside, he jogged over. “Hi.”

His parents pulled him into a hug. “Hi, baby. How’d the case go?”

“Mm, got my part done. I ended up seeing a few of the people you’d wanted to meet there. I was wondering if you’d be OK if I invited them here?” Nagisa smiled as his parents both enthusiastically nodded. “Cool. Give me a second.”  
Unlocking his phone, he sent a fast text to Smog to ask the two to join them. The response was nearly instantaneous. “They said they’ll be here in a few minutes; let’s go put in our name for a table.”

After twenty minutes, all five were seated at a small table at the back of the building near the exit.

“You asked to have a table near the back, didn’t you?” Lioness said, grin near feral. “Good thinking.”

“Mm.” Flashing her glance, Nagisa glanced toward his parents then returned his gaze to glare.

“Gotcha.” Lioness nodded, before turning to the Shiotas. “It’s nice to meet you. You son has really helped me out.”

“How so, miss…?” His dad asked, glancing up over his menu.

“He’s offering me a place to stay as I work on my nursing degree. I really owe him for that.” Lioness smiled. “I’ve been struggling to find a place to say and Nagisa offered up a room at his house for the time being.”

“Sounds good. What type of nursing are you hoping to go into?” Hiromi asked, before conversation dropped as food arrived. After the meals and been given to the correct person, Hiromi turned to Smog. “You’re the one who kept my son alive, correct?”  
“The kid did a pretty good job of that on his own. But I helped when I could.” Smog said, as both Lioness and Nagisa offered up a feral grin at the obvious discomfort Smog was feeling with the line of questioning.

“Yeah, because it was competent of me to get basically kidnapped and assaulted the first twenty-four hours outside of the country.” Nagisa joked, and then regretted it when his parents gaze snapped to him and Smog let out a relieved breath.

“What?” Hiromi asked, using the tone that Nagisa recognized as the tone she’d used when he was small and he’d messed up.

“Uhhhhh……. I’ll tell you later?” Nagisa offered, and shrank under her gaze. “Promise?”

“Fine.” Hiromi said, dropping the subject. Their food arrived as Nagisa let out a sigh of relief. After dishes were handed to the correct person, Lioness took charge of the conversation. “So, Nagisa, when did you learn to play the violin?”

“Oh, um…. Back a few years ago. I’d found myself drawn to a music shop and just ended up buying an instrument. Taught myself how to play with tutorials. I found the music calming.” Nagisa said, shrugging. “I don’t usually take it with me, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to have something to calm down with this trip.”

“I didn’t know you played. I was wondering why you were carrying a violin case, but my mind went to old stereotypes more than anything else.” His Dad said, smiling when Smog snorted a laugh.

“You mean about gangsters and violin cases?” Smog asked, and grinned even wider when Nagisa’s father nodded. “You have excellent taste in old clichés.”

As the two continued to talk, the other occupants of the table dug into their meals. Listening to the two men as they began to discuss all manner of media as the other three stared on in stunned surprise as a new friendship bloomed.

Looking to his mom, Nagisa saw the laughter in her eyes. “They’re best friends now, I take it?”

“It’s looking like it. Anyway, they’ll be busy discussing that series I never read.” Hiromi eyed the men as they began to discuss the books. Turning back to the kids, she offered a smile. “So what school are you two thinking of going to?”

“Mm, I think I might take a bit of a break, and try to start up during the winter semester.” Lioness said, thinking back. “I need to get some of my financials out before I fully commit. I’m not sure if I want to go into Pediatric oncology or if I want to focus on being an ER nurse.”

“Interesting. Why those two options?” Hiromi asked, eyes gentle.

“I like kids better than adults, and I’ve dealt with trauma like that before. So I think I’d handle it pretty well.” Lioness smiled. “Besides that, I think I want a job where I don’t have to think about what I wear that day. Scrubs for days.”

Hiromi snorted. “I always thought girls wanted as many clothes as possible—I know I did when I was your age.”

“Nah, I don’t think in the mornings. Brain is off until it has to work. This thing” Lioness said, jerking her thumb toward Nagisa. “Is lucky I’m not trying to eat his brain in the morning.”

“You mean that time you shambled toward me to ask for coffee WASN’T an attempt?” Nagisa teased, elbowing her.

“Shut it. Coffee is essential.” Laughing the two grinned and conversation continued until the meal finished. Feeling his phone vibrate as the group finished paying, Nagisa dug it out and glanced at it. _Should’ve figured._

Karma: You’re in town. Can we talk? 

After we’re done with the court case. Sure.

Karma: You promise you’re not going to vanish afterwards? 

Look, unless I’m attacked during the court case, no. I’m not. And if I do get attacked, I will leave to protect both MYSELF and EVERYONE ELSE.

Karma: Alright. I’ll see you @ the courthouse. 

After the meal, the group split up and headed their respective ways. Once he and his parents had reached home, Nagisa sighed. “Remember how I said my first kill was in self-defense?”

“Yes.” Hiromi confirmed, eyeing her son from where she sat on the couch. “Why?”

“That’s what I was referring to earlier at dinner.” Nagisa saw both parents subtly turn toward him. “Yes?”

“How badly were you hurt? Baby, is there anything we can do?” His dad sat forward, closing the book he’d pulled out after they’d gotten home.

“Oh, I guess you hadn’t noticed… Hang on, I can just show you.” Nagisa said, slipping into his room. Quickly changing into the loose sweat pants and holding the t-shirt he’d brough with him as PJS, Nagisa took a few steps out of the room. “So, again, don’t flip out when you see my back.”

“That isn’t going to stop the…. Jesus, baby.” His mother’s shocked voice came when he turned his back to them. “Who did this to you?”

“A man long since dead.” Nagisa responded, forcing himself to remain still as his mom came up to gently brush her fingers along the scars that ran the length of his back. Sensing his discomfort, his mother withdrew her hand. “Oh, baby.”

His dad was a lot more vocal. “I…oh, god, kiddo. We failed you so hard.”

Feeling his dad collide with both of them, Nagisa lost his balance and landed on his stomach with an ‘oof.”

“Nice tackle, dad. Maybe you should’ve played football.” Nagisa griped as the three sat up. Upon seeing the devastated look on his dad’s face, Nagisa shook himself before continuing. “Dad. Look at me, OK?”

His dad’s dark eyes met the son’s gaze and reassuring smile.

“This was not your fault. And there was nothing that could have been done. That’s most of what my case rested on. And I won.” Nagisa said, nudging his dad with shoulder. “I’m fine, I’m alive and I’m here. Focus on the positives.”

“That’s… what we wanted to talk to you about.” Hiromi said, shifting to sit in a more comfortable position. “Earlier, you sounded kind of worried about potential backlash. Is that still something?”

“I…” Unsure of what to say, Nagisa settled for the truth. “Very much so. I’ll be under surveillance for the rest of my life, but I don’t think that’ll negate the threat to me, or to anyone else I love. I’m scared that may come back to bite all of us in the ass. If it does, I will need to leave to keep everyone safe.”

“I… we only just got you back!” Hiromi sobbed, reaching out to pull Nagisa close to her.

“I know.” He whispered brokenly, as his parents held him tighter. “I wish it were different. But I will not endanger people.”

“We raised your right.” His dad laughed, brokenly. “What if we went with you?”

“I don’t know? You’d be giving up so much. What about your work?” Nagisa asked, unsure.

“You’re worth more to me than work ever could be. I’ll find a new job.” Hiromi said.

His father concurred. “You’re everything to us, kiddo. We lost you once. We’re not doing it again if we can help it.”

“It’ll depend on a lot.” Nagisa confessed as he thought back to the attempt in the alley. _I will not put people in danger. But if I stay, I will. Maybe if Mom, Dad and I vanish, it’ll appease the overlords enough that they wont’ attack again._

Karma’s voice echoed in his head. _Trust us. We were trained by Koro-Sensei, too._

Nagisa shook the thought off. _That may be true, but your training can only take you so far against experienced killers. And that doesn’t protect family, friends, loved one or anyone else. If they targeted say, Sugino’s fiancée, she’d have no way to defend herself_

_I guess at this point, I’m just going to enjoy the time I have._ Reaching up, he embraced his parents as they clung together as a family unit. 

The next few days were crammed with as much time together as Nagisa could afford between his meetings with lawyers and any other legal mumbo-jumbo. While he was in contact with other from class 3-E—mostly Professor Bitch—he was trying to make sure that he arranged everything he needed to secure the potential move of both himself and his parents as well as writing goodbye letters. _Just because we have the option doesn’t mean that we have to use it. If nothing happens, I’ll stay here. I’ll try again, here._

A gut feeling took over, and he shuddered. _Let’s hope things go well._

Closing his eyes, Nagisa prayed as he let himself slip off to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello. Please check out A Contract Between Killers if you haven't yet: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19495276/chapters/46396114

Waking up early the next morning, Nagisa quickly got ready for court as a sense of foreboding weighed on him. Pulling on his suit waistcoat and dangling the jacket over his shoulder with two fingers, Nagisa shuffled his feet into the custom-made boots that housed hidden knives laced with a paralytic in the soles. Reaching for a letter for Karma he’d drafted while he’d planned his out, Nagisa carefully tucked it into the inside suit coat pocket. _Here we go._

Quietly making his way out of the house, Nagisa scanned his surrounding the entire way to the train station. _They’ve been behind me for a block or so. Keep an eye, but assume that it’s not dangerous._ He carefully kept track of anyone who appeared to be following him, as well as anyone who set off any type of alarm.

Upon arriving at the train station, Nagisa felt the two others join him. “Good morning. Are you guys feeling the eyes on you?”

“No, duh.” Lioness teased, flipping her tightly bound braid over her shoulder. “There are three federal agents about fifty feet from us. We’re being watched. Why wouldn’t we be?”

“Cool. Good to know I’m not losing my touch.” Nagisa said, looking back at Smog. “How are you?”

“Fine.” Despite the words, Smog looked a little pale.

“You seem worried. Want to share with the class?” Nagisa asked, trying to be gentle as he asked.

“Bad feeling.” Smog replied, eyes darting around. “You’ve got an escape, right?”

“Planned, for both me and my parents.” Nagisa replied, side-eyeing a few passengers as they stepped on the train. “I couldn’t convince them to let me go again. They’ve got an apartment set up in our new home along with everything else if necessary.”

“Good. I don’t know what, but something is going down today.” Lioness said, playful teasing gone to the wind. “I’ve got my plan. We’re in agreeance, right?”

“Mmm.” Nagisa confirmed, as the train moved beneath their feet. “We’re as ready as I think we can be.”

“I hope so.” Lioness said, eyeing others in their car when they got too close. “I hope so.”

The rest of the ride was silent as the three kept close. Sliding off of the train, the three quietly crept their way past the throng of new reporters outside. The case had caught the attention of reporters when an internal document had been leaked—and thus the media circus that was surrounding the court house.

“Welp…” Nagisa groaned, once they’d gotten through. “Let’s go check in before we get mauled.”

Making their way to the witness room, Nagisa carefully took up the chair where he had a full view of the doors on either side of it. Glancing around, he mentally noted where Nakamura and Karma sat as they took in the three assassins.

With Lioness and Smog settled down next to them, Nagisa carefully began to speak in French in order to avoid both Nakamura and Karma understanding. “When are your flights?”

“I have a few different options. I do have a reserved seat on a flight that leaves at noon, should our part be over by then. But if I need to vanish, I also have tickets for a flight leaving to Australia and another to Shri Lanka as necessary. Also figured it was a good idea to have a few false trails. You?” Lioness asked, turning to Smog.

“I have a flight at five PM tonight, headed for the Los Angeles Airport, with a connection to Denver. And a ticket to England, and another to Germany. All at various times as necessary. I’ll probably take a few days to go home, just to be safe. Nagisa?”

“Mmmm, multiple tickets. Several destinations. The only one that has a semi-direct route is the one organized by the government if it’s necessary.” Nagisa said, catching sight of Karma crossing over to him around the other witnesses.

“Are you sure you want to leave?” Lioness asked, tilting her head subtly toward Nagisa’s old classmates. “You’ll be leaving them behind.”

“Better to leave them behind than to lead them to their graves.” Nagisa explained, keeping a neutral face as he turned to Karma. Reverting to Japanese, Nagisa nodded. “Hi, Karma.”

“Nagisa. I was wondering if you were even going to acknowledge us. You’ve been pretty skittish when we’ve been around.” Karma said, fake happy smile resting on his face. “So, are we talking after this or now?”

“After, I already said.” Nagisa carefully pulled in his temper. “We need to focus on what’s ahead of us.”

Reaching down, Karma laid his hand on Nagisa’s healed shoulder. “Promise me you won’t vanish.”

Looking Karma in the eyes with a smile, Nagisa lied. “I promise, if nothing bad happens.”

“No, even then. Don’t vanish.” Softening a bit, Karma gently scrubbed a hand of Nagisa’s scalp. “I need to grovel a bit.”

Snorting with laughter, Nagisa shook his head. “You don’t do that. Nice try.”

“Then you’ll want to remember.” Karma teased, backing up a bit. “Look, I’ll leave you be for now, but we are talking.”

“Mm.” Nagisa mummered, noncommittally.

“What are you going to do if nothing happens?” Lioness asked in French.

“Rent a metal backbone for twenty minutes.” Nagisa hissed, glaring.

Hearing the door open, Nagisa glared at Lioness for a second before something hit on a semi-conscious gut instinct. Turning his gaze to the door as it closed, Nagisa was nearly on his feet when Lioness tugged on his sleeve.

“Easy.” Lioness steadied, grinning up at him. “Raring to go?

“Huh?” Nagisa raised an eyebrow as he turned back to Lioness. “What?”

“Isn’t…. that why you jumped up?” Lioness asked, eyes wide.

“No…” Nagisa said, carefully taking his seat. “Just….” Not wanting to preemptively panic, Nagisa sat back down. _I’ll try to catch sight of whomever set off those feelings._

When Nakamura was called, Nagisa watched the doors to the court room open, and expected to feel the same warning pass over him. When nothing came, Nagisa glanced down. _Did the assassin leave?_

Doing a fast check of everyone in the room, Nagisa didn’t feel the warning bells go off. “Huh.”

“’Huh’ what?” Smog asked, eyes meeting Nagisa’s.

“Nothing. Ignore me. My nerves must be getting to me.” Nagisa said, narrowing his eyes. _Nerves don’t get to me. What the hell set off the warning?_

“You don’t get nervous, Snake. What’s up?” Smog asked, turning to him.

“I’m not sure; alarm bells went off, but I can’t tell from what.” Nagisa responded, speaking quietly in French. “Be ready. I don’t know if they’re after us, or after a different witness.”

“Will do.” Both ex-assassins responded. Nagisa stood, nodded to the others. “I’m going to go…” Motioning to the seat next to Karma and Nakamura, he offered a little smile. “I just don’t want them hurt.”  
“Go. We’ll be fine.” Lioness said, and with a teasing grin, she nudged his leg with her foot. “Go talk to your boyfriend. You’ve missed him.”

Flipping her off, Nagisa made his way to the seat next to Karma without saying anything. When Karma nudged him, Nagisa offered a fake smile. Hoping Karma bought it, Nagisa reached down and quickly re-tied the laces on his boots, subtly running his hand over the soles to comfort himself. _It won’t’ be like last time. No one is getting hurt when I’m here._

Feeling a hand take his and squeeze, Nagisa broke from his staring war with the floor to see Nakamura smile gently at him. “Hey.”

“Hi.” Unsure of what else to say, Nagisa started to drop his gaze again when he felt Nakamura squeeze it again. “Yes?”  
“I… forgive you. You didn’t plan on being asked to do what you were.” Nakamura said, withdrawing her hand.

“I should have, though. I’m so sorry. I froze when you needed me most. I shouldn’t have even asked you to do it.” Nagisa said, voice quiet.

“Nagisa, you couldn’t have known that they’d insist that I die in front of them.” Nakamura said, leaning forward on her knees to look around Karma. “You couldn’t.”

“I should have, though. It’s a classic move for agencies like mine.” Nagisa said, looking away. “I should have prepared you for that. I would never hurt you, Nakamura. I couldn’t.”

“I know that, Nagisa. I shouldn’t have doubted it. If you couldn’t kill me when I was in South America, you wouldn’t have killed me then. I was just scared.” Nakamura offered a small smile. “I’m sorry I doubted you.”  
“You weren’t the one that hurt me, Nakamura. I could understand why you thought what you did.” Nagisa said, looking away from her as he admitted to the pain.

“It was me, right?” Karma’s voice was soft. “You trusted me to know you and I questioned you.”

_More than that, you turned away from me._

When Nagisa didn’t answer through the tidal wave of the pain that reminder brought down on him, Karma reached for him and pulled Nagisa close. “I was wrong, Nagisa. I hurt you because I should have trusted you. You deserved better than that. I should have known you wouldn’t hurt us.”

The contrary side of Nagisa spoke as the ex-assassin stiffened. “How could you? I was an assassin. That’s what we do—we harm people.”

“That doesn’t matter. You, Shiota Nagisa, would not have harmed us, assassin or not.” Quietly whispering to Nagisa, Karma gently pulled Nagisa close to his side and ran a hand up and down the man’s side in a soothing manner.Wrapping his arms more fully around him, Karma pressed his nose into Nagisa’s hair. “I was just… so angry and scared and I lashed out. I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry, Nagisa.”

Pressing close to Karma’s side, his gut feeling and what would happen if an attack went down, Nagisa treasured the warmth of the embrace for a moment. _If there’s an attack and I leave, I will always remember this moment._

“You’re OK. I understand why. Just… don’t do it again? I don’t know that I could take it.” Nagisa admitted, lips pressed tight at the wave of pain.

“Never.” Karma whispered in Nagisa’s ear. “I love you.”

“I…love you, too.” Nagisa wished he could lie, push Karma away. Instead, he reached for the letter he kept hidden in his jacket. “Look, Karma. Promise me that you’ll read this after the court is over, OK?”

“OK? What is it?” Karma asked as he carefully tucked the letter away.

“Something I hope neither of us need.” Nagisa answered honestly, reaching for Karma’s hand. Grasping it, Nagisa leaned into his side. “I really hope we don’t need it.”

Refusing to say anything else, Nagisa leaned into Karma’s side as they sat together. Witness after witness was called, and Nagisa got the same sense of danger every few times the door opened.

Staying on guard, Nagisa nearly grasped Karma when the bailiff came in and called Karma: “Akabane, you’ve been called.”

Feeling Karma start to stand, Nagisa’s alarm bells went wild as he looked at the bailiff. _What is it?_ Looking over to Smog, Nagisa saw him go white. Standing, Nagisa started to make his way toward the bailiff as Karma was escorted from the room. _That shape seems familiar._ The bailiff was tall, and his shoulders and arms bulged under the button-up shirt. The hands were what really set him off, though. Nagisa recognized them. _Those hand can crush glass._ Unable to stop Karma from leaving, Nagisa looked over the man as the door closed. At the last second, Nagisa recognized him. “Fuck.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! If you haven't read A Contract Between Killers by NoteInABottle, you're missing out. Here's the link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19495276/chapters/46396114

Smog and Lioness joined him where he stood. “Who…?”

“Remember on the island? The assassins who swore he’d wait until Karma had a hit taken out on him? Went by ‘Crush’ or something like that?” Nagisa asked, stomach shrinking. “It’s him.”

Smog’s eyes narrowed as he thought back. “Grip, that’s him. He won’t make any moves in public, so Karma’s safe for now. Whomever is next, we need to make sure Karma doesn’t leave with him.”

“I think I’m up next, and I’ll be able to signal the others.” Nagisa explained, sighing. “I guess I’m glad we have the backup plan.”

Lioness came forward, gently hugging Nagisa to her side. “Are you going to be OK with leaving him? You seemed to make up.”

“I’d rather vanish from his life than kill him with my presence. Or any of the others. I can’t…. I can’t endanger them, no matter how much I want to be a part of their lives. I know that this isn’t what they want, but it’s what’s best for everyone.” Nagisa whispered, heart breaking a bit. “Besides, Karma will find someone else. He’s gorgeous, has a good job, and a somewhat OK personality.”

Smog had to smother his laughter under his hand and turn away at the “OK personality’ part and Lioness sqouze Nagisa’s arm as she bit on her tongue. Her expression spoke volumes, support, love and fear for her friend entangled in an ever shifting mass as she held tight.

After a few moments of smothered laughter, Nagisa took a deep breath. “If I need help, I’ll use codes. You with me?”

“Always, big bro.” Lioness teased, poking his side. “I’ll also buy the first round when we get home and you need a drink. Deal?”

Leaning into the hold on his arm, Nagisa nodded. “You’re the best.”

“No need to ask for my help. I’ll be on standby. How about we text that old teacher of yours? He’s here, right?” Smog asked, reaching for his phone.

“Good idea. But tell him not to make a scene unless he thinks Karma’s in danger.” Nagisa said, and then a thought hit him. “And to maybe check on the bailiff that supposed to be here today. I know Grip has a moral code, but I don’t know if the bailiff would fit in his ‘no kill’ zone.”

“From what I remember of the man, he probably wouldn’t have considered the bailiff as a target. He probably knocked the man out and took the uniform.” Smog said, eyeing the door. “But we did only really talk for a few moments.”

Nodding, Nagisa sat down next to the door, waiting for it to open again impatiently. Each minute of the next hour wore on Nagisa’s nerves as he stared at the doors. Hearing the talking cease, Nagisa stood and was waiting at the door when it swung open.

It was a different bailiff that Grip, and Nagisa glanced out into the court room to see Karma being led out of the room by Grip. “All you need to do is crush glass? Because I can do that.”

Seeing the lightbulb go off, Karma dashed backwards away from the man as Grip reached to grab him and drag him out. Grip missed by near inches, Karma’s arm nearly being used to drag him back into the killing hands. _I almost couldn’t protect him. Again!_ Dashing forward as several civilians screamed, Nagisa reached out and grabbed onto Karma’s arm. _While you were lucky to avoid the wolf once, the wolf only has to be lucky once to get to you. How many times can I pull those I love out of the jaws of the wolves around me?_

Pulling Karma back and out of the way, Nagisa stepped forward as the mountain of the assassin stepped forward. “Well, Snake, have to say I’m still impressed by your observational skills. And I have to thank you, I’ve been waiting on this hit for years. Now step out of my way.”

“No.” Nagisa stated, balanced on the balls of his feet. “Now leave.”

“If I don’t get him now, you can count on the fact that I’ll take the contract again when it comes up. Your bosses have a hard-on for you, Snake. They want blood. They don’t much care if it’s yours or from our loved ones.” Grip grinned down maliciously at Nagisa. “They’ll be in danger if you stay. Are you going to accept when their blood is on your hands?”

Feeling the ice take over his body, Nagisa simply didn’t dignify it with an answer. “Leave, Grip. Last warning.”

“Ha. As if I would be afraid of you, small one.” Grip reached out and grabbed Nagisa’s arm. Before he could crush the bones in Nagisa’s arm, Nagisa used the grip to launch himself up, quietly manipulating his hidden knives to slide out of their sheathes. Landing one foot on the man’s shoulders to knock him down, Nagisa pressed the blade to the man’s throat while the other foot landed on the top of the opposite hip to balance. Using his weight and the threat of the knife to keep the assassin down, Nagisa pinned Grip to the floor carefully avoiding nicking him with the blade. “Stay down, or the paralytic on the blade will make your night awful.”

“Well, how is your image going to stand up to this?” Grip asked, carefully turning his head to look at the court room as the two listened to footsteps retreating out of the room.

“Doesn’t matter.” Nagisa said, hearing footsteps come up behind him. When Karasuma knelt down beside him, Nagisa spared him a glance before moving away carefully. “Good luck, sir.”

Stepping back, Nagisa re-sheathed the blades and moved away as Grip was read his rights and cuffed. Leaning against the divider between the gallery and the rest of the court, he let out a breath and cupped his hands over his mouth to center himself. Closing his eyes for a moment, Nagisa calmed himself down before he picked up a pen and wrote a small note in the inside flap of the prosecution folder. Making his way back to the witness room, Nagisa sat back down to wait for the trial to reconvene.

Hearing the footsteps approach him, Nagisa looked up to see Karasuma and Karma walking toward him as he could hear people reentering the court room. “The trial going to restart soon?”

“Yeah, just a few moments.” Karasuma said, as Karma knelt down in front of Nagisa and reached up.

“Are you OK?” Karma asked, cupping Nagisa cheek in his hand and running his thumb over the crease between the eye and cheek.

“I’m fine. He didn’t get you, right?” Nagisa asked, leaning into the touch and looked over Karma to check that he was uninjured.

“I’m fine, babe.” Karma said, standing and pulling Nagisa up into a hug. “I’m just glad you are.”

“Yeah.” Nagisa agreed. “Same.”

Karasuma spoke next. “The court will restart in a half-an-hour. Shiota, you’ll be called to the stand in a few minutes after that. Be ready to go.”

“Alright. Let me know when things are going to happen.” Leaning back in his seat, Nagisa was surprised when Karma pulled him up and out of the room. “Karma?”

“Just… come with me for a second.” Karma said, dragging Nagisa carefully into an empty office and locking the door before he turned to him. “What happens now?”

“What do you mean?” Nagisa asked, confused as Karma walked toward him.

“I mean, something happened. You said, if nothing happens, you’ll talk to me after. Something happened. What does that mean?” Karma asked, eyes sharp as he met Nagisas gaze.

“I… nothing, it’s fine. No one is bleeding, no one is dead. Everything’s fine.” Nagisa said, reaching up and wrapping his arms around Karma. “I didn’t think it’d be that way when you entered the court room and Grip was close enough to you.”

Shaking a bit, Nagisa felt his thoughts as he wondered what could have been. _If Grip was less picky, he could’ve broken Karma before I could have gotten there._

Burying his face in the crease between Karma’s neck and shoulder, Nagisa held tight as he felt relief. “I’m so glad you’re OK.”  
“So am I, baby boy.” Karma’s voice was soft, as he held Nagisa. Reaching down, he tilted Nagisa’s chin up and pressed their lips together. After a few moments, Nagisa felt Karma’s hand pick up Nagisa and carefully back him up against the wall before he wrapped Nagisa’s legs around his waist. “Now,” he said, sliding his hand up Nagisa’s back to the nape of his neck. “What is supposed to happen now, baby?”

“Karma.” Hissing at the contact, Nagisa pressed closer. “How soon do we have to go back?”

“In a few minutes.” Karma responded, pressing his hips to Nagisas and grinding a bit. “Tell me what’s supposed to happen.”

Hissing, Nagisa felt his mind shut down briefly and he simply responded by pulling Karma back down to him. “Not now.” _He’ll be just as lost as I am to this._

Giving in for a moment, Karma kissed him as the two embraced. Pulling back a few moments later, Karma sighed. “We need to get back to the witness room.”

Backing up, Karma let Nagisa down gently. Letting them both breathe and giving them a chance to physically calm down from their impromptu make-out session. Carefully navigating back to the witness room, Karma pressed a final kiss to Nagisa’s forehead before he let the man go back into the witness room.

Looking back as the door shut, Nagisa offered Karma a grin as the door slid shut. _Be happy, Akabane Karma._

As the court resumed, Nagisa is called first. After delivering his testimony, Nagisa took a sip of the cup of water given to him by an undercover agent and fell to a deep sleep. Shiota Nagisa was declared dead later when his vitals were read by an EMT, as are his parents who were poisoned at an eatery where they’d been waiting for their son.

While the Shiotas were pronounced dead, the Sharpes were returning home to Canada after a vacation in Japan. While the family were dual-citizens, they had been joined by friends who were not. Mary and Tomas, family friends of the Sharpes who’d joined them on their trip also made their way home; albeit in a bit more roundabout fashion.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because I am apparently incapable of writing anything with an angsty ending--or at least a wholly angsty one--much to the disappointment of one of my best friends, I present to you the next chapter. 
> 
> (I can't do hurt/no comfort. Ever. It will break me. So there's still a happy ending on this one. :-) )
> 
> Anywho..... if you haven't checked out A Contract Between Killers by NoteInABottle, I'm surprised given how much it rocks. Give it a read: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19495276/chapters/46396114

Quietly, Nagisa, Lioness and Smog all registered as ‘people of interest’ with the Canadian government. They would be tracked, but would be allowed to live in the country as long as they were quiet and didn’t resume their former lifestyle.

As the three started a normal routine—college classes for Nagisa and Lioness, and a new place of employment for Smog—Nagisa helped settle his parents into a new condo in the city as well as agree to help house-hunt for Lioness once she felt a bit steadier. All the time, Nagisa thought of Karma with a deep sense of loss.

_I wonder if he’s doing OK._ Feeling the loss of the man he loved echo in the endless pit of his stomach, Nagisa stared off as his teacher for his junior-level class. Tapping his pen along the edge of his notebook, Nagisa’s attention was dragged back to the lecture when his new friend—Estelle, or Stella for short from his education course classes—tapped him on the shoulder. “Hey, Nate.”

Snapping his attention back to the lecture, he passed a smile to his friend. Mouthing his ‘thanks’ to Stella, Nagisa refocused.

After the lecture ended, Estelle offered a smile as she stood over Nagisa, light skin, hair and eyes contrasted with her black vest and jeans. “Do you want to get lunch and talk about them?”

“About who, Stella?” Nagisa asked, packing away his backpack and picking it up to sling over his shoulder.

“About whomever has you making moon eyes at the clock on the wall.” Estelle teased, picking up both her backpack and her purse. “I’ll treat. How about the sandwich shop down the road?”

“Sounds good.” Nagisa agreed, following Estelle as she led the way out of the building and to the sandwich shop. Letting Nagisa get his thoughts together as they walk to their destination, Stella sat down and waited.

“Stella, there’s a lot I can’t tell you about them, or about me. I need you to understand this.” Nagisa—or Nathan, as he was known by Stella and all of his new acquaintances—said as he carefully unwrapped his food. “It’s a guy from my past.”

“Isn’t it always?” Stella asked, smiling as she ran her hand through shoulder-length hair to shake it out of the small ponytail.

“Maybe. This is a guy I knew from the time I was young—middle school, actually. I’d gotten close to him during my first part of my first year in middle school, and then we drifted apart near the end. By the end of middle school, though, I’d have gone to space for him. After that, we drifted a bit apart because of me moving to a different high school and the start of college kind of left us as distant ships in the night. Then, I ended up running into him after going through a sort of metamorphosis. I’d come to realize I never really felt anything romantic except for him and I wanted to connect, to see if it was still a thing.”

“And?” Stella asked, leaning forward as she took a sip of her drink.

“It was still there. But we had to part ways due to circumstances we couldn’t control.” Nagisa explained, taking a bite of his sandwich. “I miss him, but I know he’ll be happy with someone else. I’m just jealous of the ‘someone else’ bit.”

“Aww, sounds like you really loved this guy. I was wondering how you identified.” Stella said, finishing her food and crumpling up the paper and pushing it aside. “If you don’t mind me asking, what do you identify as? Sexually/romantically, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“Uh, from what little time I’ve put in to look into it, I’m either asexual or demisexual and demiromantic. I don’t feel inclined unless it’s someone I’m close to.” Nagisa said, blushing a bit. “I think it’s why I’m so hung up on the guy.”

“Yeah, it would be hard to have such an attachment to give it up. I’m sorry. If you ever want to join me, I know a great bar where you’d be accepted. And you could probably make some new friends. I know a few demis who are regulars there. And I’ve heard you sing and play, so you’d be a hit!” She smiled, standing to throw away her garbage and Nagisa followed suit, tossing away the few bites of his sandwich he had left and picking up his drink.

“I might take you up on that. I think maybe having someone who understand would be nice.” Nagisa said, picking up his bag. “I need to go, though. My next class is in ten minutes. Text me when you’re headed to the club and I’ll try to join you.”

“See you later, Nate!” Stella called as Nagisa rushed out to his next class.

At the end of the day, Nagisa checked his phone to see a text from Stella.

Sunshine Goth: Hey, I think I might be headed to the club this Friday. If you want to join, I’ll be at campus before I go. 

I think I’m free this Friday evening. I’d love to go, if you’re sure it’d be OK: N. 

Sunshine Goth: I’ll see you on Friday at the Union building at 4:30! I’d like to get there early so I can introduce you to my friends there~!

Smiling, Nagisa navigated the rest of his week with a mix of apprehension and nerves that he used his multi-weekly spar with Lioness to work out. The two had an exercise class credit on the same day, and would often meet up to spar.

“So, I’ve got plans of this Friday. Stella and I are headed out to a bar she likes. I can ask her if she’d mind if you come with?” Nagisa asked, dodging a few punches.

“No, I’m sorry. I’ve got a study group at that time. I might join you if I get done early, but it’s a big test that Monday for our o-chem class.” Lioness apologized, ducking back from Nagisa’s return kick.

“Not a big deal.” Nagisa landed, jumping over Lionesses’ attempt to knock his legs out from under him before lashing out with another flying kick. “If you ever want to join, you’d be more than welcome.”

“Sure, maybe once this semester is over.” Lioness agreed, as the two continued to spar.

That Friday rolled around, and Nagisa was dressed in a pair of black slacks and a deep green button-up t-shirt. _Keys, wallet, watch…._ Nagisa thought, as he readied himself after his classes. Pulling on his leather jacket and his backpack over that as well as hefting his violin case, Nagisa carefully exited the bathroom and made his way to the agreed upon meeting spot.

“Hey ya, Nate!” Stella called, as she stood dressed in a blue slip dress with a black lace covering over top. Her black-gold heels made her ever taller, setting her firmly at a foot taller than her companion. “You’re looking sharp, Sharpe!”

“Thanks. How far is it to the bar?” Nagisa asked, adjusting his backpack over his shoulder.

“Ten-minute ride, on the bus. It’ll be easier than trying to find a parking spot there and we can always catch a ride back with the 24-hour bus system.” Stella said, walking out to the bus. “And there’s our ride!”

Climbing on, Stella and Nagisa carefully took their seats. Idle chit-chat filled the ride as the two waited for their stop.

“So, how did you choose our university?” Stella asked, as they walked into the bar.

“My parents found a house here, and a couple of good jobs. Since they were moving across the world, I followed. I didn’t have much attachment, beyond that one guy. And I didn’t want to lose my parents. I transferred to the school and you know the rest.” Nagisa smiled, leaning back against his seat. “You?”

“It was far enough away from my small town that I could be someone new.” Stella answered. “I could leave behind the name that didn’t feel right. I just wanted a chance to be who I am than who I was perceived as.”

“Fair enough.” Nagisa agreed, smiling. “I think it’s kinda nice to have a new start.”

Laughing, Stella tugged on his sleeve. “Here’s our stop. C’mon, I texted to have a few of my friends to meet us!”

Following Stella up a duo of stairs into a fairly large establishment. Entering the bar, Nagisa found himself scanning for threats out of habit, and he took in the bar as he did so.

There was a decent area set up with seating off to the left of the entrance, and the bar was to the immediate right. A small stage was set up with a rainbow lights shone down, with instruments waiting to be played. At the bar, a guy with a nice vest and a bright bow-tie was cleaning a glass while two others sat off at the table nearest the dance floor.

The two people at the table called out. “Stells! Over here.”

“OK, one moment.” Stella called, waving to her friends. “OK, so, Nate. My friend Cal is the one at the bar—he’ll join us in a few moments. My friends at the table are Lia and Micha. Lia has the blond ponytail and Micha has that atrocious Hawaiian shirt that I will continue to razz him for until the end of time because he thinks it looks good.”

Leading Nagisa over, Stella introduced him. “This is Nathan. He’s in a few of my 300 level teacher classes.”

“Hi!” Lia chirped, her voice a gentle soprano. “It’s nice to meet you. My name’s Lia, and it’s nice to meet you, Nathan. Actually, is it Ok if I call you Nate? It’s a little easier on my tongue.”

“Sure, not an issue.” Nagisa agreed, offering up a smile. “I don’t mind nicknames.”  
“Mm.” Micha said, one eye opening. “So are you new to the area?”

“Yeah!” A voice came from the bar as Cal joined them. “I’m interested. I’ve never seen you before. You seem neat!”

Turning to Cal, Nagisa scanned over Micha who was returning the favor. “I don’t know if I’m interesting. I’m just new.”

“I mean, new people have stories.” Cal insisted, grin wide. “I mean, how many people have that gorgeous color of hair??”

Snorting, Nagisa felt a pang of nostalgia as he remembered how Karma had teased him for his light hair. “I mean, you’re not the first to bring it up.”

Cal’s face dropped in a nanosecond to a sad expression, and Micha leaned forward as he spoke. “It’s a painful thing for you, isn’t it? Your hair color?”

Nagisa felt his stomach shrink. “I ended a relationship and I kind of miss him.”

“That sucks.” Micah’s green eyes went soft. “I know how awful that can be.”

Looking up, Nagisa measured his new friend. “I wish I knew how to make it stop.”

“I’ve always found the best way is to spend time with friends—so tell me, Nate, what do you do with friends?” Micha asked, reaching out. “I usually end up talking about music. I’m a music major.”

“Oh, what instrument?” Nagisa asked, eyes wide.

“I’m on guitar. The rest of these jokers also play. We usually play here once in a while.” Micha grinned. “Stella mentioned that you have a decent voice, and that you’ve mentioned playing a violin before.”

“I do play, but I’ve never done it in public. I’m not sure I’d do well with the stage fright I’d probably get.” Nagisa blushed, looking down at his hands on the table.

“That’s not a big issue. How about you practice with us? You don’t have to join in until you’re more comfortable on stage.” Lia offered, gentle smile warming over Nagisa’s nerves.

“That…sounds nice.” Nagisa agreed, gently reaching for his violin case. “But do you have the sheet music?”

Lia reached down, pulling out a folder from her backpack. “Yep! I play oboe, so I found the violin composition for the songs. Here!”

Handing Nagisa the sheet music, Lia stood and walked over to pick up her instrument. “Want to try it out?”

Taking her up on it, Nagisa stood and joined her onstage. “Forgive me if I’m not entirely right, OK?”

“Not a problem.” Carefully setting herself up, Lia began to play the opening notes and Nagisa followed as best he could.

After a few songs, Nagisa and Lia both rejoined the group and started talking about all things music. While Nagisa considered himself a lover of all generas, he was soon recommended more music than he’d ever thought of listening to.

Lia grinned. “I personally love nightcore, even if it is just sped-up songs. I don’t know why, but I love songs like those.”

Cal snorted. “And you teased me for liking dubstep.”

“Yeah, because I could make the same sounds by using a broken laptop.” Lia snarked in a gentle, teasing tone as she poked her friend in the side.

Listening with half-an-ear as he scanned over the music sheet, Nagisa laughed when the argument broke into hysterical laugher when Micha simply said “Combine them so everyone hates it.”

Nagisa navigated the rest of the late afternoon playing with the new group and enjoying himself as he bonded with his new friends. As the evening started up, Nagisa and the other talked as Cal worked the bar.

Suddenly, a warning bell went off for Nagisa. Twisting, he scanned the room and saw a bottle-blonde woman slink her way across the floor toward him as her mini-skirt rode up to nearly illegal levels.

Turning back to Stella, Nagisa raised an eyebrow and watched Stellas face twist into one of disgust when she caught sight of who Nagisa was looking at and shook her head. “Straight woman who comes with her ‘gay’ friends and then makes every guy who says ‘no’ to her uncomfortable. And criticizing any girls who hit on her. Name’s Shelly.”

Shuddering, Nagisa felt the presence of the woman behind him as she started to speak. “Heya, cutie. I haven’t seen you before.”

“And if I’m lucky, I’ll never have to see you again. Get lost. I’m here with my friends.” Nagisa insisted, not even bothering to turn around. Stella, Micha and Lia all let out shocked gasps as Nagisa turned back to them. “Anyway, what was the name of that artist?”

“Excuse me, you piece of shit!” Shelly snarled, grabbing Nagisa’s shoulder. “I’m not done talking to you!”

Reacting on instinct, Nagisa quickly pushed out of the chair and swept the woman’s legs out from under her as he grabbed her arm and pinned her down. “Touch me again, and I will make you regret it.”

Stella’s voice went breathy. “Wow, that’s so hot.”

Feeling his mind blue screen, Nagisa tilted his head at Cal who’d watched the entire thing unfold. Dropping the arm and moving away as if he’d been burned, Nagisa looked to Stella. “Hey, I’m not sure I’m comfortable here anymore. I might head out.”

“I’m with you. How about we head out?” Stella asked, picking up her bag. “I need to study soon anyway.”

“Thanks.” Nagisa said, picking up his bag. Stepping around the mess of flushed woman on the floor, Nagisa nodded to the others. “It was nice to meet you guys.”  
“Nice to meet you, dude.” Micha said, smiling a bit uneasily as he looked down at the woman on the ground. “Sorry about her.”

“Not your fault.” Nagisa said, ignoring the woman as she started to get up. “I’ll see you all later.”

Using his stealth training, Nagisa vanished from the bar as if he was on fire, moving away. Shuddering, Nagisa suddenly wished for a shower to get rid of the feeling of her touch. “Blech.”

Seeing Stella walk out a moment later, Nagisa waited on the street corner as the light flashed to walk. Stella caught up to him, sighing. “I’m sorry. I’ve never seen her act like that.”

“Do I need to worry about her? And what of the people she came with? I thought I saw a few people with her.” Nagisa asked, shaking off the tremors.

“Yeah, her boyfriend Adam is a creep. He refuses to respect boundaries. They’re well suited that way. I would stay far away from them if you can.” Stella scrunched up her face. “He’s the worst kind of controlling ass. He’ll hit on you now, mark my words. Just… be careful, OK? While we can’t confirm anything, we think he drugged someone’s drink a while back at another bar. Luckily, that person had good friends.”

“Ew.” Nagisa stated, sitting down at the bus stop.

“Agreed. Worst type of people. Stick to a buddy system with them.” Stella answered sitting down next to him. “Are you OK?”

“I want to shower that off of me, but after that I’ll be fine. I’ll probably head home after I get back. Thanks for the game, though, it’s fun.” Nagisa smiled as Stella lit up.

“I’m glad you had fun. You’re welcome to join us anytime.” Stella answered, and the two boarded the bus.

“No problem, buddy. I’ll probably join in anytime I can. I could use something to do on Friday nights.” Nagisa reached for his phone, and brought up his schedule. “I usually visit my parents on Sundays, but I’m also free on Saturday if everyone else is, too.”

“I’ll ask.” Stella grinned. “We’ll see.”

The rest of the ride back to campus was spent with Stella introducing Nagisa to her favorite artists via a video-steaming app. 


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!   
> Here's the link to the work that inspired this one: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19495276/chapters/46396114

After that first encounter, Nagisa found himself regularly going to the club every Friday. Usually, jam sessions lasted until the evening when more people started to dance. The group would usually pack up then and join in the fun.

However, while most everyone Nagisa met there was wonderful, Shelly and Adam quickly became a problem for him.

Adam had come up to him, grinning. “Hello, cutie. I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind jumping into my pocket so I can take you home for the night. My girlfriend and I agreed that you’d make a good addition to our group.”

Nagisa glared, shaking his head. “Thanks, but no way in hell.”

Adam hadn’t taken it well, screaming and trying to intimidate Nagisa by getting to close. When that didn’t work, Adam tried to shove him around. Not taking any of that shit, Nagisa knocked him down and put his foot down on his throat. “You will never threaten me again, do you understand? Now, get up and leave. You’re disturbing everyone else.”

Grumbling, Adam drug himself up and glared at Nagisa with something malicious in his gaze, promising retribution.

_Note to self: Watch drinks._ After that encounter, Nagisa had left early to get back home.

One particular evening—one after he’d missed a few sessions because of finals and filling out his masters application—Nagisa and Lioness both joined his group of friends for a friendly drink.

Lioness smiled as Nagisa pulled out his sheet music. “Nerdddd!” She teased affectionately, reaching to swipe them. “Hey, I know this song! You playing it tonight? Have you even practiced?”

Flipping her off, Nagisa ignored her as he went over the music. “Don’t worry, your ears won’t bleed. I mean, unless you do actually join us and play. I’ve heard horror stories about a woman who’s beautiful but tortures instruments. She generally matches your description.”  
“Bite me. So I’m rythmatically challenged. No big deal.” Lioness asked, glancing around the table.

Micha’s laugher came from across the table. “Maria, you’re gorgeous, beautiful and you need a lot more practice before you preform here.” Hearing a bell, Micha glanced over to the door before he looked to Nagisa. “Hey, Nate, did you warn her about them?”

“Them?” Nagisa asked, and when Micha inclined his head toward the door, Nagisa turned to look.

Sure enough, Shelly and Adam both were entering the establishment.

“Them, yes. Mary?” Nagisa asked, then tilted his chin to point the couple out to Lioness. “Beware. Awful. Avoid.”

“Gotcha.” Lioness said, eyes narrowing. The steel in her voice had Nagisa grinning.

“You’re going to enjoy intimidating them if they bug us, aren’t you?” Nagisa asked, and saw Lioness grin her feral grin.

“I haven’t torn the throat out of anyone in a while. I wouldn’t mind ripping them a new one, if they’re as awful as you say.” Lioness assured him, before turning back to the bustling conversation about music. “Let’s hear it!”

A few hours later, Lioness had left the front row to party with her friends and Nagisa and his group were winding down a bit as they talked at a table. While they’d completed their set, the group had agreed to stick around and hang out as a treat. As Nagisa had slipped out to go to the bathroom earlier, he’d been tasked to get everyone’s drink and bring it over. Walking to the bar, Nagisa waited for the bartender to acknowledge him so he could order.

Feeling a warning kick up on his left, Nagisa kept his gaze stalwartly ahead as Adam slid up on his other side. “Heya, bluebell.”

“My name is Nathan. Either call me that or leave me alone.” Nagisa said, smiling when the other bartender acknowledged him. “Hi, Katie. Refills all around, please.”

“Sure thing, Nate.” Katie said, not bothering to look at Adam. “Be right up.”

“C’mon, bluebellllll…. we want you. What’s it going to take to get you to agree?” Adam insisted, hand reaching out to grasp Nagisa’s wrist.

“Death, specifically yours.” Temper fraying, Nagisa let the cold-blooded assassin shine through. “How would you like to die?”

Adam chuckled, oblivious. “Of an orgasm.”

“You’re gross.” Nagisa said, turning back to the bartender as she slid all the drinks across to Nagisa on a tray.

Adam reached out again, this time grabbing Nagisa’s wrist and getting his attention. “I will pay you.”

Insulted, Nagisa turned around and shoved the man hard enough to knock him to the floor. Picking up the tray, Nagisa ignored Shelly as she rushed to help her boyfriend up. Carting the drinks to the table, Nagisa sighed. “How do I get rid of them?”

“Your idea of killing them was a good start.” Micha quipped, reaching to grab his drink. Handing out the others, he sighed. “I wish I could help, Nate, but I don’t have a suggestion.”

“Mmm….” Nagisa grumbled, sitting back down and throwing back a sip of his drink. _Huh, wonder if this glass wasn’t rinsed fully? It tastes soapy..._ Pushing away the drink and sitting down, he sighed as he eyed the couple. “Maybe I’ll get lucky and they’ll leave.”

Twenty minutes later, Nagisa felt strange. Shaking his head as he felt fuzzy, he looked around. Seeing that no one had noticed, he sighed. _I need to catch up on sleep. I’m more tired than I thought._

After another moment, Nagisa realized what’d happened. _I’ve been drugged. Shit._

Looking up, Nagisa didn’t see Lioness around and the others hadn’t noticed Nagisa’s quite withdrawing from the conversation. Standing, he made his way to the bar and waved down the bartender. Sitting down at the bar, Nagisa waited for her to come over.

Unfortunately, Adam and Shelly both swooped in. “You’re not looking so hot, bluebell.” Adam said, gentle. “Do you need help?”

“Yeah, can we help you home?” Shelly’s voice was saccharine sweet.

“No.” Nagisa struggled to articulate. “Leaave mme aloone.”

“You’re slurring your words. You’ve had way too much to drink. Aren’t you driving? You can’t drive drunk.” Adam insisted, sounding reasonable.

Hearing the door open at the front of the bar, Nagisa made an effort. “Get away from me.”  
“Nate. There you are.” Karma’s voice came from the entry way. “I was hoping to run into you. Been awhile, hasn’t it?”

A _m I hallucinating? Shit, that’s not good._ When the bartender came over, Nagisa focused in order to explain. “I was drugged. I don’t want to leave with anyone.”

Karma appeared in his view, dressed in a pair of black slacks and a maroon button-up as he walked over and wrapped an arm around the smaller man’s shoulders. “What?”

The warmth of Karma’s body sunk through Nagisa’s button up. _Not a hallucination!_ Realizing he was actually there, Nagisa relaxed a bit as the drug took more and more effect. “I think my drink was drugged.”

“Then you aren’t going anywhere.” Karma assured, sitting next to him. “I’ll stay with you.”

“Who the hell are you?” Adam demanded, visibly shrinking when Karma turned to him.

“An ambassador with some qualified immunity.” Karma responded, standing to reach his full height while he stood protectively at Nagisa’s side. “You?”

“The man’s boyfriend and girlfriend.” Shelly said, coming to Adam’s side.

Lioness’s snort came next as she walked over from the dance floor. “As if. They’re most likely the ones who drugged him, Karma.”

Karma turned, squinted at her. “We met at the trial, correct?”  
“Yep. I’m the one who shot you.” Lioness said it with a playful grin.

“Ah, yes. You’re friends with Nag…. Nathan. You know these two?” Karma asked, jerking his chin toward Adam and Shelly.

“Yeah, they’re the sleazy couple that no one has been able to prove drug people so they can assault them.” Walking over to Nagisa, Lioness shoulder checked Shelly away from his side. “Nate, baby, what are you feeling?”

“Hot. Tired. Kinda sick.” Nagisa responded. “C’n y’u che’k on ‘thers?”  
“Sure, baby. Are you going to be OK with Karma staying with you?” When Nagisa nodded, Lioness quickly left to go to his group and let them know what was going on.

The bartender had arrived in the middle of the conversation. “Mr. Sharpe, if you’d stay right there, the cops have been called. They will be here shortly. Don’t move from that seat.” Turning to Shelly and Adam, Katie’s smile dropped. “The only people close enough to that drink to drug it before he took a sip was myself, Nathan and you two. I will testify to this if asked.”

Feeling Karma press something into his hand, Nagisa had enough awareness to recognize one of his fangs.

“You bitch!” Adam swore, lunging toward Katie who had nowhere to go except up against the back of the bar.

Moving on instinct, Nagisa grabbed Adams wrist and pinned it to the bar before he drove his fang into the man’s sleeve. “You. Will. Not. Touch. Anyone. Here.”

Seeing the man pale, Nagisa dropped back to his stool and he felt his body start to fully succumb to the drug. Feeling Karma reach and help steady him up, Nagisa closed his eyes. Leaning back into Karma, Nagisa begged him one thing. “If I pass out, please don’t let the hospital put me on my stomach.”

“Of course not.” Karma assured, running his hand through Nagisa’s hair. “I love you. We’re talking when you wake up.”

Groaning, Nagisa slipped into a weird space where he was semi-aware of everything that happened but too tired to care. He knew when the police arrived—the lights blared in the front door to reflect on the ceiling—when Micha came over to check on him and when there was a large incident going off to his left.

Soon enough, Adam and Shelly were being ushered out the door in handcuffs. As he was loaded into the ambulance, Nagisa felt his stomach shrink when the EMTs told Karma he wasn’t allowed in with them. “Sorry sir, we can’t take extra passengers, unless you’re related to the passenger.”

Karma seemed miffed, but nodded. “Alright. Which hospital are you taking him to?”

“Bridgepoint Active.” The EMT responded, reaching for the door.

“I’ll meet you there, Nate.” Karma called as the doors closed.

Feeling panic take over, Nagisa’s mind started to race. _What if it’s a trap? I can’t move, I’d be easy to take out and murder right now. What do I do? I…_

Hearing the heart-rate monitor kick up, Nagisa heard he EMTs trying to calm him down as the ride started. _I can’t fight if things go wrong. But there’s no need to give them a reason to think I’m on edge._ Feeling flashbacks of moments from Takaoaka flash in his mind, Nagisa struggled to breath.

Trying to take a few deep breaths, Nagisa slowly coached his heart rate down to a calmer beat. Praying he was going to be OK, Nagisa stared up as his body refused to do anything that he asked of it. _Why is my luck so bad that I get drugged like this twice in my life? Once was enough!_

Feeling the vehicle slow down, Nagisa tried to focus enough to see where they were. From what he could process, it appeared as if he were being moved into a hospital. _Even if it is a hospital, it’s a prime place to strike. Please let Karma—or Lioness or anyone I know—be here soon!_

As he was taken to an exam room, Nagisa was looked over by a nurse and then directed to a room where he could wait out the drug effects. They took a blood sample to test for the GHB that they’d suspected he’d been given and was changed into one of the paper gowns. A minute after he’d been settled, a familiar mop of red hair appeared and took a seat next to Nagisa. “Hey, you.”

Unable to say anything because of the exhaustion weighing him down, Nagisa simply made eye contact.

“Drugs still gotcha, huh?” Karma asked as he sat down next to Nagisa. “Not a big deal. I’m here. You’re safe. Mary said she’d inform your parents and that they’d be here soon.”

Grateful, Nagisa felt his eyes well up.

“Hey, hey. It’s OK.” Taking Nagisa’s hand, Karma held tight. “I’ve got you. Go ahead and knock out for a little bit, it’ll help you with the whole ‘exhausted’ thing.”

Making eye contact, Nagisa wished he could talk. _Are you sure?_

Karma merely tightened his hand. “I promise, Nagisa. I’m here. Go to sleep”

Closing his eyes, Nagisa let himself fall to sleep.

Waking up later, Nagisa was unsurprised to still feel his hand held tightly. Rolling his head to the side, Nagisa saw both his parents curled up together on the couch, and Karma had put his head to rest on the side of the bed, with Nagisa’s hand held tight in his. Early morning light was coming through the window behind the couch, and Nagisa let his head fall back on the pillow. _God, I just want to go home. I hope Ranger and Hunter are OK. I made sure to go back to feed them, but they’re probably wondering where I am. God, I feel awful._

His mouth was dry, and he felt weak and exhausted. _If I ever see them again…. They’re going to wish it was just their sleeve I stabbed._

Hearing footsteps walk into the room, Nagisa rolled his head to the side to see a nurse.

“Hi there. Good to see your eyes open.” They said, moving toward him. “We were wondering how long until you’d wake up. The drug should have worn off, and once we confirm that with another lab, you’ll be free to go.”

Nodding, Nagisa sat up and winced. “Ow.”

“Yeah, you’re probably going to be a little sore. They said you didn’t take the drug well, thrashed a bit when you could.” The nurse explained, wheeling a cart over. “Let’s get these labs done so you can go home, yeah?”

“Please.” Carefully sitting up, Nagisa moved to the edge of the bed and held out the arm not currently held hostage by a sleeping red-head.

Quietly, the nurse stuck him enough for two vials of blood. “I’ll get these down to the labs. I’ll ask them to rush the order.”  
“Thank you.” Nagisa said, and felt Karma shift to his right. Seeing his parents rouse, Nagisa sighed. “I think we’d all like to forget this happened.”

After the blood draw, Karma had remained asleep. _Makes sense, I guess. It is early…but he doesn’t look like he got off a flight. How long has he been in Canada?_

Sitting up enough so that he could look to his parents, Nagisa offered a weak smile. “Sorry about this.”

His mother shook her head. “No, it’s not your fault, baby boy.”

“What she said.” His father replied, keeping his voice low. “You didn’t ask to be drugged.”

“By the way, who is this?” Hiromi asked, motioning to Karma. “He was here when we got here.”

“I…” Looking down, Nagisa shook his head. “He’s a friend. Although, I am worried that he’s put his life and our lives back in danger by coming here.”

Hiromi hummed. “Which isn’t good. But you and he seem close.”

“I know.” Nagisa said, reaching to run his hands through Karma’s hair.

Hiromi’s knowing smile had Nagisa shrugging when she raised an eyebrow at him. “I don’t know what to tell you.”  
“Do you need a ride back to your car? Or are you going to be OK?” His dad asked, smiling at the interaction of his wife and son.

“I think I’d prefer to go back to get my truck. I’d need to get to do errands Monday anyway. I’ll see you two tomorrow?” Nagisa asked, smiling up at his parents as they walked around to his other bedside.

“OK. Well, we’ll leave you be. Please be careful, baby boy.” Hiromi said, pulling him into her arms for a hug. “We love you.”

“I love you, too.” Nagisa said, holding tight for a moment. Releasing his mom, Nagisa smiled as his parents walked out hand-in-hand. Turning back to Karma, Nagisa worried as he took in his…. _friend? Boyfriend? Lover? What do I call you? I thought I wouldn’t see you again, and that you’d be safe. Why are you here? Karma, I left to keep you safe. Now you’re in danger—and possibly put me and my parents in danger, too! And the others! What if my company find out I’m still alive??? They might go after anyone from 3-E! And I won’t be there to help them. I thought I would be able to keep everyone safe. What have you done??_

Panic flooded his system, but he kept his hands gentle as he gently shook Karma. “Hey. Karma.”

Karma pushed his hand off and grumbled. “Five more minutes.”

“Fine. You have until the labs get back.” Nagisa grumbled, reaching for the remote to the TV.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgot to update the tags last time, I'm sorry if any of what happened last chapter caught you guys off guard. I'll be trying to update them before I post this next chapter.
> 
> Anywho..... Read this to support the work that inspired this one : https://archiveofourown.org/works/19495276/chapters/46396114

Twenty minutes later, the same nurse walked back in. “You’re all clear to go. I’ll let you change back into your clothes and then wheel you down.”

“Thank you.” Nagisa said, reaching for his clothes and walking to the bathroom attached to the unit. Changing out into his clothes, Nagisa was glad he’d be able to go home and shower soon. _I just want to forget this night happened._

Walking out into the room, Nagisa walked over to Karma. “OK. Time to get up so we can leave.”

Groaning, Karma rolled his head to the side and blinked his eyes open. Eyes wide, he launched up to grab Nagisa. “You…. God, I thought…”

Wrapping his arms around the smaller man, Karma held tight with one arm around Nagisa’s waist and the other cupping the back of his head. “I thought I’d lost you, baby.” His voice shook as he pulled in a few ragged breaths while his emotions ran wild. “Nagisa.”

Unsure what to say, Nagisa just returned the hold. “I’m OK.”

“I know that, now. God, you scared me.” Rage entered in Karma’s voice, and Nagisa started to try to squirm away. “Why?”

“Not the place to talk about this, Karma. Let me get checked out and we can talk?” Nagisa said, tilting to look at Karma.

When he caught sight of Karma’s gaze, he shrank a bit. _I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this mad._

Huffing out a long, exasperated breath, Karma let go and turned to the nurse. “Sorry. You can take him now. Nate, I’ll be by the entrance.” Storming off, Karma vanished down the hall.

“Ex?” The nurse asked, eyeing the retreating form.

“Of a sort. Never really got a full goodbye.” Nagisa explained, sitting down in the proffered wheelchair. “If he didn’t read my note, he probably just thought I was gone.”

“Seems like a bad way to break up.” The nurse said, leaning on the wheelchair handles as they walked him to the elevator.

Nagisa shifted, uncomfortable. “I guess.”

Sensing that he wasn’t going to say much else, the nurse simply started relaying all of the necessary care instructions and warning signs for Nagisa to look for. “Alright, while it’s not likely to affect you anymore, if you start feeling sick, you’ll need to come back. Also…”

Tuning out, Nagisa simply started nodding at the moments when the word flow stopped, and signing all the paperwork necessary. _Get the rigamarole done, and go home._

Finally, he was able to stand up and shake the doctor’s hand, discharge papers in hand. Exiting before they could think of a reason to keep him, Nagisa nearly ran toward the entrance. _Karma said he’d be here…_

Catching sight of the bright red-hair chilling in a chair near the front, Nagisa carefully moved toward him. “Hey, Karma.”

Karma’s gaze snapped toward Nagisa, and he launched to his feet. “Are you cleared to go?”

“Yeah, got the discharge instructions and everything.” Nagisa said, and was unsurprised when he found his hand in Karma’s tight grip.

“Good. Let’s go. I’ll drive you home and we can talk there.” Karma said, turning toward the entrance.

“Um…I need to pick up my truck?” Nagisa said, then backed off when Karma glared. _Pick your battles at this point…_ “Alright.”

Following Karma’s lead, Nagisa found himself in the passenger’s seat of a nice sports car. Looking at Karma from the corner of his eye, Nagisa wondered what to say. “Do you need directions to my house or are we going elsewhere?”

“If you want to talk at your house, give me directions. Otherwise, we’re going to mine.” Karma said, voice hard. “We have a lot to talk about.”  
“I need to feed my dogs, so take the interstate east out of town.” Nagisa said, carefully letting Karma navigate toward the freeway.  
“Dogs?” Karma asked as he drove.

“Huskies. One an attack dog, the other a puppy. I was training the latter when I left for South America.” Nagisa said, staring out the window as building rolled by.

“Friendly?” Karma asked, not saying anything else.

“Should be, as long as you don’t attack me. Ranger might take offense at that.” Nagisa said, terse and tired. Letting his head rest against the window, Nagisa continued to give directions. Karma said little, hands tense on the steering wheel.

Arriving at the house, Nagisa had Karma park by the front door. Unbuckling, Nagisa climbed out and moved to the front door to unlock it before Karma climbed out of the truck. Unlocking the door, Nagisa was assaulted by his dogs, who’d bounded when they’d heard the key in the lock. “Hey, guys.”

Sniffing, both Ranger and Hunter let out happy cries at the human being home. Standing, Nagisa led them away from the front door. “Let’s get you guys some breakfast, OK?”

Filling the dogs bowls, Nagisa turned around to see Karma about to come in the door, and Ranger on the alert. “Friend.”

At the code word, Ranger lost all interest and turned back to his food bowl.  
Karma entered, closing the door behind him. “Nagisa!”

Too drained to deal with it, Nagisa said nothing as he toed his shoes off and walked around the couch and up the stairs.

Karma followed Nagisa. “Nagisa, where are you going?”

Saying nothing, Nagisa opened his bedroom door and collapsed on the bed. “Go ahead and yell.”

Karma snarled. “HOW could you leave like that?”

“If I stayed, everyone would have been targeted. I couldn’t protect everyone. However, if I ‘died’, it would mean that everyone would be safe. I’d watched you nearly bleed out once. I didn’t need to do it again. Nor did I need to hear that my friends had been killed by assassins because I came clean. I would rather live apart from everyone than stand weeping over their grave. I love you—and everyone else enough—to make that sacrifice.” Nagisa closed his eyes, tired. “If you’ve blown my new identity, you’ve undone that choice. For everyone else’s sake, I hope you didn’t. For my parents, for me, I hope not.”

Rolling so his back was to Karma, Nagisa grabbed his pillow and tucked it under himself. “Yell if you want. I’m tired.”

Nagisa didn’t hear Karma’s reply as he drifted off, but he felt the mattress next to him dip as he fell fully to a restful sleep.

Waking up, Nagisa found himself tucked against Karma’s side. Burrowing closer, Nagisa breathed in the warm scent of sleep. _MMmmph…do I have to get up? I don’t think I have anything planned for today… Mom and dad are coming tomorrow for dinner… shit, I need to go to the grocery._

Grumbling, Nagisa rolled away and sat up. Feeling the last night and the nap catch up with him, Nagisa sighed. _I need to shower._

As he stood, Nagisa felt an arm come around his waist.

“Oh, no. Not until we talk.” Karma said, voice sleep-roughened.

“Karma.” Nagisa sighed. “What?”

“Your cover was not blown. This was the backup plan, anyway.” Karma said, sitting up and pulling Nagisa into his lap. “I’d been working on an ambassadorship here anyway.”

“And how did you know that I lived here?” Nagisa asked, elbowing his way back out of the embrace, anger flaring up. “You risked everything I’d done to keep you safe!”

“I know, I know To set the record straight, I had no idea you had a house in Canada.”.” Karma soothed, leaning back on his palms to keep Nagisa safe. “But anyway, I didn’t risk anything. Not really. Your old identity is still dead. I just found a new boyfriend in my new country. That’s all. Nate.”

Nagisa glared. “Oh, after the assassin you’d dated died, you just up and left your old job and no one suspects anything? I call bullshit.”

“I promise, Nagisa. You, and your parents, are safe. I would not risk them or the others. Not after you chose to make that sacrifice.” Karma’s eyes close for a second and Nagisa could feel the shudder run through him. “I… God, the way you looked when you took that drink… I can still see it in my nightmares.”

“That’s my image of you bleeding out on the court steps.” Nagisa said, leaning back to bury his nose in Karma’s collarbone.

“I know; I’m sorry, baby.” Karma’s arms came up to hold him. “I’m just glad you’re OK now. We good?”

Processing, Nagisa found himself unable to say anything else. “We’re good.” Nagisa pressed close to the one person he loved. “I love you.”

“Love you, too.” Karma said, running a comforting hand over Nagisa’s side, gently dragging it up and down. “Now, are you feeling OK? Last night must have been awful.”  
“I’m better. Last night certainly wasn’t fun.” Nagisa said, feeling his skin crawl. “I’m just going to shower off all of the grossness that’s on my skin.”

“Alright. I’ll go after you.” Karma said, reaching to ruffle Nagisa’s hair. “By the way, you’re looking so much better.”

Blushing a bit, Nagisa nodded. “I think I’m getting back to a healthier weight.”

Karma grinned, running his hand along Nagisa’s side. “Seems like it.”

Leaning into the touch, Nagisa smiled. “I missed you, Karma.”

“I love you, too.” Karma said, comfortable. “Go shower, you smell like the bar.”

Snorting in laughter, Nagisa struggled out of Karma’s arms and grabbed a change of clothes. “For that, I’m going to take up the hot water.”  
“Take longer than twenty minutes and I’m joining you.” Karma said, voice going playful.

Blushing, Nagisa closed the door. “Jerk.” He muttered playfully, shucking his clothes and starting the water. A minute later, he stepped under the spray and felt his body relax. Reaching for his shampoo, Nagisa heard the door creak open. “If it’s been twenty minutes, I’m actually a reptile.”  
“You’re not. It’s just that your dogs are giving me the evil eye…” Karma said, carefully backing into the bathroom. “I’m just gonna hang out with you until…”

Turning, Karma’s eyes scanned over Nagisa. “Damn.”

_Huh?_ “What’s up?” Nagisa asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You look good.” Karma’s eyes skimmed over Nagisa once, twice. “I…”

Feeling heat flood his body as Karma took him in, Nagisa felt his neck flush. “Thanks. There’s enough space for both of us, if you want to join.”

Hearing Karma pull in a deep breath, Nagisa turned away and pulled down the shampoo. Pouring some into his palm, he could hear Karma unbuttoning and pulling off clothes. Scrubbing along his scalp, Nagisa closed his eyes and started to rinse off when he felt Karma’s body press against his back. Hissing at the contact, arousal took over his stomach at the feel of the solid body against his. “So, you’ve healed completely?”

“Mmm, I have a new scar.” Reaching for Nagisa’s hand, Karma led it to his right side to a small raised circle.

“I’m sorry you got hurt, Karma, I never…” Feeling Karma’s grip tighten a bit, Nagisa stopped talking.

“I’m just glad your assassin friends were there, Nagisa.” Karam whispered, pressing a kiss to the nape of the smaller mans neck.

Letting out a moan, Nagisa nearly blushed at how fast arousal took over his body. “K…karma…” He begged, pressing his back flush to Karma’s chest.

Karma let out a low chuckle. “We do have things to do today, Nagisa. But how about this? We get everything done, and then we call it done and spend the rest of the day together. Assuming your dogs don’t rip me to shreds.”

Nagisa let out a bit of a laugh. “I’ll see what I can do.” Grabbing the body wash, Nagisa scrubbed away the feel of stickiness on his skin. “I need to grab some groceries. And pick up my truck to get it home. After that, I should be good for tomorrow. You?”

“I need to go gather some things and fill out paperwork. I’ll probably be gone for a while. How about I drop you off at your car and then go in? I know my way back here; I’ll be here for dinner. Sound good?”

“Yeah, that works.” _I’ll need to add a few things to the grocery list, but that’s easy enough._ “I’ll probably make something simple for dinner. And maybe do some pre-emptive reading for some of my classes.”

“Nerd.” Karma accused, rising off the last of the shampoo he’d rubbed into his hair.

“Bite me.” Nagisa said, stepping out of the shower and grabbing a towel.

“Maybe later, baby, if you ask nicely.” Karma said, and Nagisa fervently wished for night to arrive more quickly as the two readied themselves for their day. Karma pulled clothes from a bag Nagisa hadn’t realized he’d brought in with himself.

After Karma dropped Nagisa off, Nagisa quietly pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed Micha. “Hey, Micha. It’s Nate.”

“Nate! Are you OK?” Micha asked, voice seemingly frantic. “We hadn’t heard from you.”

“I’m fine, the drugs wore off and I went home to catch up on sleep. Sorry I didn’t let you guys know earlier. I’m fine. Do you know what happened with the awful people? I hadn’t heard much.” Nagisa sighed.

“From what I understood, the police did find evidence of some type of drug in the glass. The two were taken in. Luckily. I’m just glad they won’t be back at the bar.”

“I’m surprised they were allowed at all.” Nagisa griped, climbing into the driver’s seat. “Assholes.”

“Agreed, and I think it was because there wasn’t any proof and they buy a LOT of drinks when they’re there.” Micha said. “Anyway, we’ll see you next week, right?”

“Count on it.” Nagisa said, glancing at his phone as it beeped. “Hey, I need to let you go. Just wanted you to know I was alright. I’ll let Stella know next, but I don’t have the other’s phone numbers.”  
“I’ll spread the good word.” Micha promised before he hung up.

Driving to the grocery, Nagisa paused after parking to send a text to his mom.

Hey, we’re having steaks tomorrow, right? I’m at the grocery now. :N

Mom: Yep, that’s the plan. Your dad wanted to test out that grill of yours. 

Mom: Weirdo. 

Nagisa let out a gentle laugh.

Alright. I’ll pick up the stuff. See you tomorrow. :N

Mom: See you soon, baby. 

Grabbing everything for the next day—steaks, potatoes, and toppings for the potatoes—Nagisa carefully considered what he’d want for dinner that night.

_I think something simple…and with some nutrients? I’ve been eating a lot of fast food._ Browsing the produce, Nagisa picked up a few bell peppers and an onion. _Maybe just sausage and peppers. Easy enough to make, stores well and the leftovers still taste good._

Picking up the additions of a jalapeño and a set of spicy Italian sausages, Nagisa tossed it all into the cart before picking up the last two items on his list and going to self-checkout.

Arriving home, Nagisa ended up doing chores as he’d neglected most of them while he’d been busy with classes and finals.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags have changed somewhat, make sure to check them before continuing. 
> 
> Also, check out this: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19495276/chapters/46396114

Sitting down after an hour, Nagisa pulled the brush from his pet care box and began to run it along Ranger’s back. “I’m going to get an entire puppy’s worth of fur from you, you know that?”

Ranger merely looked back over his shoulder before lying down to let Nagisa continue.

“I wish I knew how to tell him how scared I was when I saw him bleeding out on those steps, how awful it was to wonder if I’d killed him. He would have been safe had I not been there. I had to make sure no one else paid that price.”

Ranger didn’t say anything, but his ears were tilted back to listen to his human.  
“And how stupid it was that he’d risk all of us again by seeking me out—even if it was planned. What would have happened if something went wrong? We’re not even sure that everything went OK. I know they think they can protect themselves—they were trained by Koro-sensei, too, but that doesn’t matter when they haven’t been living as assassins. Skills atrophy, too and it could have meant all of their lives to pull me out of the depths I was in.” Nagisa griped, carefully running the brush over the dog’s thick fur. “I know they consider me to be worth it, but I have to wonder what is one human life worth to many?”

Ranger rolled away, and snorted. _Nope. Not dealing with this._

“Traitor.” Nagisa grumbled, as Ranger walked away. _Do I need to chase him down to finish his coat?_

Looking at the several puppies worth of fur now decorating him, the floor and the brush, he let it go. _He’s probably fine._

Hunter walked over, and tackled Nagisa to the floor with his tail going at a fast clip.

“Hi, buddy.” Picking up the brush, Nagisa gently began to work on the puppy.

Hunter rolled over, offering up his stomach.

Snorting, Nagisa ran the brush over him as he spoke. “You’re a good boy, you know that?”

Hunter wiggled in response.

“I just… I know that they make their own decisions and that I was worth it. And I’m flattered. I’m just…worried.” Nagisa sighed, leaning down to bury his face in Hunter’s fur. “And there’s nothing I can do to negate what’s been done. At least with a new identity, I could have hidden, kept everyone safe. Now? I don’t know. I can’t vanish again—it’d be obvious that that was what I was doing. And Karma would be stubborn enough to follow me.”

“MMrmmwww!” Hunter seemed happy as the brush ran down his side.

“I know it’s over with and worrying about it is not worth worrying about at this point. But I’m angry he would risk his life. He matters to me, too. I love him just as much as he does about me. I would have been happy for him to have a good life where he was able to continue in Japan…. I’m feeling guilty. It wasn’t my fault, I know that. I just… what happens if someone dies?”

Hunter merely used his paw to push Nagisa’s idle hand down to his belly for more rubs.

“I guess it wouldn’t change anything that I could do anything about. It would just confirm that they know I’m alive and targeting me.” Nagisa said as he leaned back against the couch. Putting the brush down, Nagisa curled into himself. “I just… I don’t know if I can survive if someone dies.”

Hearing the dryer ding, Nagisa stood and scolded himself. “There’s no reason to worry about this now.”

Walking away from the thoughts, Nagisa carefully avoided them as he continued to work around the house.

After a few hours, Nagisa started on dinner. As he did so, he checked his phone.

Karma: Hey, I’m on my way back. I should be there in an hour.

Alright. See you then.:N 

As luck would have it, a knock sounded on the door as Nagisa’s timer for the last step for dinner to be done. Grabbing bowls and forks, Nagisa placed them on counter as he went through the kitchen to the front door. Checking the door as he palmed one of his fangs he’d kept close, he opened it once he saw the bright red hair. “Hey.”

“Hi.” Karma said, walking in and putting a couple of bags down on the floor before he reached to pull Nagisa into his arms. “I missed you.”

“You saw me this morning.” Nagisa griped, as Karma hefted him up.

“Yep. And I still missed you.” Karma said, steadying Nagisa with an arm around his back and using the other to tilt Nagisa’s head for a kiss.

Leaning back to be a brat, Nagisa nearly screeched when Karma simply followed his momentum for a second. “Karma!” Snapping his legs around Karma’s waist, Nagisa held tight as Karma lowered the two of them onto the stairs behind them.

“You’re the one who leaned back.” Karma pointed out, pinning Nagisa down. Leaning forward, he nipped at his earlobe before pressing a gentle kiss to the sting. “Maybe you shouldn’t do that.”

“Bite me.” Nagisa grumbled, thrusting his hips forward to press against Karmas’ as arousal flew through him. _I am NOT the only one who’s going to be turned on._

Karma let out a low moan of his own, before sucking in a breath. “Maybe dinner first.” Backing off, he held a hand out to Nagisa. “It does smell good.”

“Mm, and it’s done.” Taking the hand, Nagisa relished that Karma gripped it tight as they walked into the kitchen.

“Oh, also?” Karma asked, smiling down at his boyfriend. “Can you call off your attack dog? He’s been giving me the eye.”

Looking down, Nagisa saw Ranger glaring at Karma. “Ranger, family.”

At the code word, the dog looked at him, raised an eyebrow and then looked back and forth between the two of them. Seeming to give Nagisa a ‘really?’, the dog snorted and walked off as the couple entered the kitchen area. Karma’s laughter split the air. “Oh, my god. He has more personality that Terasaka.”

Feeling his gut convulse as a laugh was ripped out of him, Nagisa nearly bent in half as he steadied himself with a hand on the counter. “Don’t…...”

“Oh, you know it’s true.” Karma insisted, picking up a bowl from the island. Spooning out his portion, Karma sat down at the table with his food and let Nagisa do the same.

Enjoying the meal, the two talked about their respective days.

“I’ve gotten my office set up, and I’ve read through all of the current legislation that I need to worry about. I also got my apartment mostly set up. I just need my last shipment of my manga to come in and I’m golden.” Karma said, taking a bite.

“I guess you would already have an apartment. I was wondering when you got into Canada?” Nagisa asked, reaching for his drink.

“I got in about a week ago, but I knew you had finals then because I’d checked the website. So, I figured it wasn’t a good time to drop the ‘hey, I know you’re alive’ bomb.” Karma said, putting his fork down and reaching for Nagisa’s hand. “You really scared me, you know that?”

“I know, Karma.” Nagisa whispered. Closing his eyes, Nagisa flashed back to Karma lying of the ground bleeding. Saying nothing, he picked up his bowl and fork to put them in the dishwasher.

“Nagisa?” Karma asked, taking his last bite.

“Nothing. Just…” Moving away to the living room, Nagisa curled in on himself.

“Nagisa.” Karma said. Nagisa heard the clink of dishes being placed in the sink. Keeping his gaze down with his knees hugged to his chest, Nagisa purposely said nothing. Feeling Karma sit down next to him, Nagisa spared a fast glance up. Karma’s gaze was soft, loving and frustrated.

“Talk to me, babe.” Karma asked, sneaking an arm around his waist and pulling him into his lap while pressing a kiss to the nape of his neck.

The warmth unwound Nagisa. “I remember you bleeding out in my hands. I felt like I couldn’t do anything. The ambulance took forever to arrive and I just had to watch. I just… I see it in my nightmares.”  
“And I see you seizing, struggling to breath as you’re loaded into an ambulance. And then I get the news that you’ve passed away.” Karma’s voice shook. “I…

“Never want to face that again.” The two said, in unison.

Looking at each other with surprised gazes, Nagisa was the first to crack. Letting out a small snort, he started to laugh.

Karma followed suit. “Well, we agree on that.”

“I worry I might need to go back to that life, if any of the others are targeted.” Nagisa said, leaning into Karma’s chest. “And I’m scared of what could happen if that does happen.”

“Well, there’s no point in worrying about that now.” Karma said, letting his chin rest on Nagisa’s head. “They don’t know you’re alive—I promise you.”

“How can you be sure? Isn’t it weird for you to have moved halfway across the country when you’d been set in a position there?” Nagisa asked.

“I mean, not really? I couldn’t focus on work after… well, after.” Karma said, nuzzling as close as he could get. “I started to fall apart. Ended up talking to my boss, telling them I needed a bit of a break. Set a smoke screen with the idea that I needed a new area, because I had ‘too many memories’ of the person I’d just lost. Given that he was known to have been a local and that it’s well known that we’d been friends for a long time, it seemed plausible.”

“Mmmhmmm, and how hard was it for you to pretend to be losing it?” Nagisa asked, enjoying Karma’s warmth.

“It wasn’t entirely acting, Nagisa. When I got the news, I didn’t handle it well.” Crushing Nagisa to his chest, Karma held him as his voice broke. “You were gone.”

Breathing heavy, Karma moved quickly and flipped Nagisa so that the smaller man was kneeling between his legs. Their gaze met, and Nagisa felt shock bottom out his stomach.

Karma was wrecked, eyes red, angry, and pained. The tear tracks ran down his cheeks, and seemed to struggle to breathe around his emotions. “I…lost you.”

Pulling Nagisa so their eyes met and foreheads bumped together, Karma’s voice was soft. “It was worse than I imagined, Nagisa. Especially knowing how badly I’d hurt you before then. Speaking of that, I’m so sorry I didn’t believe in you—didn’t trust you. Please, forgive me.”

Karma’s tightened hold on Nagisa, warmed him. “I can’t be too angry. I’d worry if you trusted an assassin, no matter who it was.”

“No, I should have known you would have never harmed Rio by choice. I know you, and I know you’re a good person. I should have trusted that. And I hurt you by not doing so.” Reaching to gently to hold Nagisa’s cheek, Karma whispered in the small bubble of intimacy surrounding the two. “I love you.”

“I know. I can’t blame you, though. I’d kept you out of the loop for so long—I did try to talk to you but I was never able…” Nagisa rushed to push out all of the his guilt and anger in one sentence.

Feeling Karma’s hand gently move his hands up to his cheek, Nagisa’s brain spluttered to a stop. Pressing their foreheads together, Nagisa did his best to offer comfort as well as receive it. “I’m sorry?”

“No… I understand why you did it.” Karma said, pressing a finger to Nagisa’s mouth to silence anything else. “You were trying to protect me, and the others. I can respect that, but now that we’re together and the danger has passed, we never do it again. Trust me.”

“Alright.” Nagisa agreed. “I’m safe, you’re safe and I don’t need to worry. I love you.”

Karma’s grin went evil as he leaned forward. “Good.” Pressing his lips to the area where Nagisa’s neck met his collarbone, he nipped at the skin before soothing the sting with a small kiss. “We’re in agreeance.” Applying himself to Nagisa’s neck, Karma left marks up the side to trail to Nagisa’s cheek, then to his mouth. Locking lips, Karma kissed him with every bit of lingering sadness, banishing it under the heat. Slicing one hand up to cup Nagisa’s cheek, he used the other to slide his hand under Nagisa’s shirt careful to avoid the areas with scars. “What’ya say we head upstairs, baby?”

Giving back a devil’s grin, Nagisa nodded. “I’m with you.”

“Damn straight.” Karma said, standing and towering over Nagisa. “Hey, trust me for a moment, OK?”

Glancing up, Nagisa turned back as he started to walk out toward the stairs. “Yeah?”

Scooping up Nagisa, Karma threw him over his shoulder while running a hand over Nagisa’s clothed back. “I want to touch your scars. Is that OK?”

“We can try.” Nagisa said, the heat from Karma’s hand nearly melting Nagisa with its gentleness.

“You are the bravest soul I know, babe.” Hefting Nagisa, Karma carried him up the stairs—and after banishing the dogs from the bedroom—shut them inside. “Now, take off your shirt.”

Blushing, Nagisa nodded and grabbed at the hem of Karma’s shirt. “You too, though.”

“Sure, baby.” Reaching down, Karma pulled off his shirt to toss it aside. “Now, on the bed, on your stomach. If you need me to stop, you tell me.” Karma reached, gently placing a hand on Nagisa’s shoulder. “Promise me.”

Nodding, Nagisa let himself carefully lower himself to his stomach. _It’ll be OK, it’ll be OK. It’s Karma, not Takaoka. He’s dead. He’s gone. He’s not here._

Karma’s weight on the bed over his hips broke Nagisa’s thoughts. “You know, babe, I love how you’re built.”

_Huh? Wh…_ Karma’s first kiss to the nape of his neck warmed Nagisa. “I love how you fit with me.” Flattening his mouth, Karma moved to the top of the largest scar as he traced it with his tongue. “You may be small, but that means you fit here beneath me.”

Having rarely been touched by another—and never touched where his scars lined his back—Nagisa was unprepared for the sheer sensation that rushed through his body. “Haaahhh.” It was as if oiled liquid pleasure had saturated his back.

Nagisa could hear the grin in Karma’s words. “Too much?”

“More.” Nagisa demanded, hands fisting in the sheets as his breath flew from him and he felt himself start to harden. _Too good…_

“Of course, baby.” Karma’s voice was sultry as he gently pressed a kiss to the scar next to Nagisa’s spine. “I love these, because it shows how strong you are.”

Before he could argue, Nagisa lost the words he wanted to say when Karma used his mouth for something other than talking. Moving his mouth down Nagisa’s back, Karma nibbled on the scars decorating Nagisa’s hips. Feeling heat rush through him, Nagisa started to grind down to get some friction when Karma pulled his hips up. “Easy, it’s OK. We’ll get there.”

Moans echoed in the room as Karma left no spot on Nagisa’s back untouched. Nagisa didn’t even register as Karma carefully used an arm to leverage Nagisa up a bit. “Are you OK if I…?” Leaving the rest of the question unsaid, Karma paused his hand on the fastening of Nagisa’s jeans.

“Please!” Nagisa pleaded.

Karma’s grin was wide as he unbuttoned his partners jeans and flipped him over.

“Hey, Nagisa. You OK?” Karma asked, giving Nagisa a chance to breathe.

“Hnngh…” Reaching up, Nagisa wrapped his arms to pull Karma down so warm skin met warm skin. “More, please!”

“Sure.” Karma said sounding a bit winded, eyes heated as he took in Nagisa’s flushed face. “God, I love you.”

“You too.” Nagisa said, sliding a hand down Karma’s back to playfully grope him. “By the way, that was smooth.”

“I am good.” Karma hummed before grabbing Nagisa’s hips to pull them together.

Feeling Karma’s own erection press against him, Nagisa groaned at the gasoline thrown on the fire of need. “God, Karma.”

A small crack of laughter was loosed as Karma continued to rut them together. “I am a god.”

“Egomaniac.” Nagisa accused, feeling himself leak enough that his shorts were getting uncomfortable. Dipping his fingers into Karma’s waistband, Nagisa glanced up. “Is it OK if I take these off?”

“In a few minutes.” Karma said. “I want this to last.” Lowering his mouth to Nagisa’s chest, he pressed a kiss to one pec before moving to tease one nipple with his mouth and using his hand to tease its twin.

“Karma, please!” Nagisa pleaded, feeling his heart pound. “I want you.”

“I know, baby.” Karma said, lifting his head from Nagisa’s chest, before returning to the task at hand.

Attempting to pull Karma down or lift himself up, Nagisa writhed. Sliding a hand into Karma’s hair, Nagisa begged. “Please, Karma!”

“Shhhh.” Sitting up, Karma rested on his heels and gazing down at Nagisa. “Just a second.”

Reaching back, Karma reached for the grocery bag on the bedside table that contained the condoms and lube Nagisa had bought earlier. “Have I told you I love how prepared you are, Nagisa?”

“Thank me by getting back here,” Nagisa hissed, grabbing Karma by his jeans and pulling him back.

Spinning around, Karma used a hand to press down on Nagisa’s throat. “Down, baby.”

The pressure on his throat shot arousal through Nagisa as he let out a low moan. “FFuuuuucck!”

Karma’s eyes narrowed as a sly smile took over before he shook his head. “You sound so wrecked. More to explore later.”

Sliding down and pulling off both pants and briefs at once, Karma also reached up to Nagisa’s shorts as his own erection sprung up. “Are you sure you want this?”

Taking in the hard, aroused body in front of him, Nagisa begged as he lifted his hips so Karma could pull his shorts off. “Yes, Karma. Please.”

Uncapping the lube, Karma poured a small amount on his fingers. Reaching down, Karma loosely wrapped his hand around Nagisa’s cock and gave it a lazy stroke. “You’re enjoying this.”

“What was your first goddamned hint?” Nagisa growled, sitting up and reaching for the lube, too. Spreading it over his palm and reaching down to grab Karma’s erection before giving a few fast strokes. “Hurry it up.”  
Karma hissed, thrusting up into Nagisa’s hand. “Ssshhhiitt.”

Grabbing onto Nagisa’s wrist, Karma pressed down to get him to release before pressing him back and using his mouth to trail down Nagisa’s body while avoiding his cock. Pressing kisses everywhere else, Karma teased Nagisa as he carefully added more lube to his fingers and gently pressed a single finger to his opening.

Feeling nerves take over a bit, Nagisa clenched down. “MmMph.”

Pressing a kiss to his chest, Karma soothed him as he carefully stayed still. “It’s OK baby, we can stop at any point.”

“I know.” Feeling himself adjust, Nagisa nodded to Karma. “OK. Keep going.”

Sucking a few more marks into Nagisa’s collarbone, Karma spoke quietly to his lover. “You are amazing, Nagisa. You are strong, handsome, and resilient. You have fought and won so many battles, and the scars on you prove that.”

Relaxing, Nagisa moaned. “I’m not that strong.” Another layer of oil saturated him.

“Oh, baby, that’s where you’re wrong.” Karma nuzzled Nagisa’s chest as he slid another finger inside of him, gently scissoring and stretching his partner as he used his mouth to tease Nagisa’s neck and chest.

Carefully exploring, Karma curled his fingers to graze Nagisa’s prostate. The oil ignited, for a second. Letting out a cry, Nagisa clench down as pleasure shot through his chest. Slipping in a third finger, Karma smiled at Nagisa. “You’re taking me so well, baby. You look so good, waiting for my cock. I can’t wait to be inside, making you beg.”

Sitting back, Karma reached for the lube and condoms as he withdrew his hand. Whimpering, Nagisa nearly begged. “Please, I want more!”

Ripping open the packaging, Karma smoothly rolled on the protection and then added more lube. “Baby, I love you. Are you sure?”

“Yes!” Nagisa begged. “It feels so good…”

Lining himself up, Karma slid inside of Nagisa slowly as he watched for signs of discomfort.

Letting out a moan, Nagisa clenched down as Karma filled him. “Karmaaa!”

Letting out a moan, Karma panted as he gently grasped onto Nagisa’s hips. “Baby, you OK?”

“Give me a moment.” Nagisa said, burying his face in Karma’s chest. “God, why are you so big?”

Snoring, Karma laughed for a few moments before taking a deep breath. “I’m not big, I’m proportional. You’re tiny. And I love it!”

“Fuck you.” Nagisa hissed, smacking Karma on the arm.

“Working on it.” Karma teased, which had Nagisa groaning and laughing at the same moment as he shifted on Karma’s lap and was nearly knocked senseless.

Clenching down, Nagisa carefully moved again, feeling an electric shock fire up his back. “Karma.”

“Feeling good, baby?” Karma’s voice was sultry edged with laughter as he nuzzled Nagisa. “Hang on, it gets so much better.”

True to his word, the waves of pleasure crested and broke as Karma worked them up to a steady pace. After a few moments, his hands slid down to grasp Nagisa’s hips.

Tilting Nagisa’s hips, Karma began to pound down on the small spot that sent Nagisa spiraling as flames consumed him. “More!”  
Prying one of Karma’s hands off of his hip, Nagisa guided it to his cock. “Please, touch me…”

Complying, Karma began to time it so his strokes matched and sent Nagisa flying over his peak.

Coming hard, Nagisa grasped tight to his lover as his own spend decorated his chest in spurts. Breathing hard, Nagisa went lax as Karma chased his own high, coming a few moments later with a cry.

Letting himself melt, Karma laid over Nagisa as the two caught their breath. Sliding out carefully, Karma rolled to his side and reached to run a hand gently down to brush Nagisa’s cheek. “You OK, baby?”

Smiling, Nagisa nodded. “I love you.”

“Love you, too.” Karma said, pressing his lips to the back of Nagisa’s ear.

Too blissed out to say anything to smack Karma as the man rolled away and stood up, Nagisa simply closed his eyes and let his mind drift close to sleep. _I’ll get him back tomorrow, when he has to deal with my mom._ Smiling smugly, Nagisa only came back when he felt something warm and wet land on his chest. Looking down on his chest, Nagisa registered a washcloth as it was run over his chest, carefully cleaning his chest before moving down to clear up the rest of their mess. After that was done, Karma tossed the rag into the hamper, let the dogs back into the room, and laid back down next to Nagisa while he pulled the blankets over them.

Snuggling close to Karma’s chest, Nagisa snuggled close. Looking, he saw Karma’s smug grin as he let himself fall to sleep. _Jerk._ Leaning up and kissing Karma, Nagisa slid a leg between his before letting his head fall to the pillow and falling asleep happy in his lover’s arms. 


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Buckle up, this is the last (LONG) chapter. Thank you to those who stuck around this long! Hope you enjoyed!

Sunshine off of a frosted window is the first thing to wake Nagisa. The second in his partner’s body heat against his. Blinking for a few second, Nagisa’s brain rebooted. _I never bring men home with me, it’s too risky… if my company find out……oh, wait._ Sitting up while avoiding the ensuing avalanche of Karma faceplanting into a pillow, Nagisa scooted off the side of the bed as his body throbbed with gentle aches. _I feel great._

Karma mumbled as his arms flailed, searching for Nagisa.

Snorting, Nagisa walked into the bathroom and shut the door. A few seconds later, he heard a loud ‘thump’ followed by a “Fucking!”

Muffling the cackle that nearly broke from his chest, Nagisa listened as the dogs made a few ‘whuffs’ and ‘Aroo?’

Hearing Karma climb to his feet, Nagisa slid under the spray as the door opened. “Morning.”

Karma’s sleep-heavy self blinked at him. “Why’re you getting up so early?”

“Karma, it’s nearly eight. It’s not early. And besides, my parents will be here later and I want to get stuff done first.” Nagisa watched as Karma shook his head.

“I’m going back to bed.” Karma said, shuffling back out of the bathroom.

Rolling his eyes, Nagisa ran through his morning routine. Ducking out of the bathroom clean and ready for the day. Sitting down on the bed, Nagisa nudged Karma. “Hey.”

Grumbling, Karma pulled the covers over his head. “What?”

“Just wanted to let you know that you’ll need to be up by three. My parents will be here by five-thirty for dinner and I want to know what you’re going to tell them so I know how to duck and evade.” Nagisa said, running a hand over Karma’s back.

Karma rolled and pulled Nagisa down to his chest. “Stay, please? I have questions about your parents.”

“Well, OK. What’s up?” Nagisa asked, leaning into the sleep-warmed skin. Karma’s eyes opened; golden eyes meeting Nagisa’s blue.

“Your parents… they’re accepting?” Karma asked, and something in his tone bugged Nagisa.

“Something tells me yours aren’t.” Nagisa said, sliding closer to his partner. “And they’ve assured me they don’t’ care as long as I’m alive and happy.”

“Good. Then I’ll have an in with them. I love you, too.” Karma said, eyes closing with pained voice. “I’m glad you have people who love you.”

“What about yours? What are you going to tell them?” Nagisa asked, pressing a kiss to Karma’s cheek to try to comfort him.

“Nothing, if I can help it. They…. don’t like the person I became. They think they raised me better.” Karma’s face fell into a mask of distaste. “I mean, they may have thought so but I never thought they were around. And they think that being gay is wrong. They’re stuck in their ways.”

Leaning back, Nagisa took in the tension in Karma’s body. “I’m sorry, Karma.”

“It’s OK.” Karma pulled Nagisa close and pressed his face into Nagisa’s hair. “They don’t like me. I got used to it a long time ago. I usually talk more to Rio’s parents than mine. They’re more accepting.”

“Speaking of our old classmates, what are you going to tell them? You seemed very close to Rio, at least. If they find out I’m alive, it could end badly for them.” Nagisa shifted so he could see Karma’s face.

“I… don’t know. I want you and the others to be safe. But I also don’t want to have to hide our relationship. It might just be we keep it hidden for a few years at minimum. Hopefully, your old bosses will have lost sight of you by then. Or maybe have been killed by then. And if we introduce you under your new name, the others would understand.” Karma smiled up at Nagisa. “But you get to apologize for being dead when it happens.”

“As if. They’ll understand.” Nagisa insisted, stomach shifting at the uncomfortable idea of telling the others. “Probably.”

“Make you a bet that they try to rip both of us apart when they find out.” Karma said, grin lighting up.

“You’re on.” Nagisa laughed as Karma leveraged himself up on an elbow to lean over him. “Now, scoot over.”

Doing as asked, Karma held his arms out. “Snuggle.”

“Sure.” Laying down alongside Karma with his head on Karma’s chest, Nagisa set an alarm for two hours before his parents were set to arrive before he drifted back off to sleep.

The dinner went over well, with Nagisa’s parents immediately taking a shine to Karma. It was easy for them to accept the young man—considering how obvious it was that Karma loved their boy. They also accepted that they’d need to keep quite about the relationship, especially when it came to social media.

For the most part, life went off without a hitch from there. Nagisa completed his courses, and started an assistant professorship at his university. Karma was happily settled into his role of ambassador—which included being able to avoid going home to see his parents anytime they asked. While it did sting both of them that they were unable to talk openly to the others—video chats and calls had to be carefully scheduled so that Nagisa was ‘away’ with either classes or out on errands when the others talked to Karma.

Every now and again, Nagisa would catch snippets of conversation between Karma and their old classmates. One particular one caught him when he was putting groceries away while Karma talked to his ‘sister’ Nakamura a few years after he’d reached full professorship.

“So, when are you going to introduce us to your boyfriend, Karma? Everyone is asking about it. You’ve been together since you left Japan.” Nakamura’s voice teased, but there was an edge to it. “I want to meet the guy who had to deal with you as a rebound and figure out how he put up with that.”

“Mmm, maybe when we get married.” Karma said, blowing it off with ease as he reached for his drink on the coffee table.

“And when’s that going to be? You’ve been together with Nate for, what, six years now? He’s got to be important to you. I want to meet him, size him up.” Nakamura whined, and Nagisa looked up to see Karma staring at him. Raising an eyebrow, he mouthed “what?”

“Don’t worry, it’ll happen soon enough.” Karma promised Nakamura, turning back to her with a shit-eating grin.

Picking up a throw pillow that had been placed near the kitchen island for some reason, Nagisa launched it at him after a few seconds of aiming before taking off to run up the second staircase at the end of the hall while he heard Karma yelling at him.

True to his word, it didn’t take Karma long to propose.

It was date night—the night Karma told his staff that his phone was off except in cases of World War III—and the two enjoyed a night out where neither worried about their work.

“So, where do you want to go tonight for dinner?” Karma had asked as the two climbed into the truck to go into the dojo in town. They’ rented a room so they’d have room to spar freely.

“How about we hit up the Smashburger? It’s filling and good.” Nagisa said, leaning back as he let Karma drive.

“It’s date night and you want to get the thing you get every other Saturday with you band group?” Karma’s fond eyeroll followed when Nagisa nodded. “Nerd.”

“You’re been with me for years and you understand most of my references, osmosis nerd.” Nagisa accused. “And besides, who owns the ENTIRETY of the One Piece manga so far?”

“Hey, it’s a great story.” Karma insisted, as he pulled onto the freeway.

“Is there ever going to be an ending or have you made a commitment for eternity?” Nagisa teased, knowing that Karma would be fine with reading the series forever.

“Shut it.” Karma said, reaching across the center to grab his hand. “We’ll go to Smashburger if you stop talking.”

“Fine.” Nagisa said, taking Karma’s hand. “So are you going to talk to Nakamura again this week while avoiding the call from your parents?”

“I might actually have to deal with them this week.” Karma said, reaching for the radio. “I might call them after work tomorrow.”

“Something up?” Nagisa asked, squeezing the hand in his lap.

“Nothing to worry about on date night.” Karma said, offering his devils grin. “I can’t wait to kick your ass.”

“Try me, Satan.” Nagisa looked out the window into the night, watching Karma from the corner of his eye. “I’ll win.”

“You’re on.” Karma held tight as he continued to drive.

After sparring—where both took a few rounds each—the two men walked into the restaurant, ordered and sat down. While waiting, Nagisa had opted for a strawberry shake and Karma had simply gotten a soda.

As the two sat at the counter waiting for their meal, Karma swiped Nagisa’s shake and took a few sips.

“Hey.” Reaching for his drink, Nagisa poked at his chest. “Mine.”

“I’ll trade you for a few more sips.” Karma bartered, holding the drink out of Nagisa’s reach.

“If you wanted a shake, you should have gotten your own.” Nagisa griped, settling back into his seat. “What do you want?”

“Your heart.” Karma was digging into his pocket before sliding a box over to Nagisa.

“Gee, I’m cheap, huh?” Nagisa joked, picking up the box and opening it expecting a gag gift of coin or something. To his surprise, it was stainless steel black band that had a center with a red stripe. “Oh.”

Karma’s snort of laughter had Nagisa kicking at his leg. “Shut up, I thought…”

“That I was kidding with you?” Karma leaned forward to take one of Nagisa’s hands in his as he leaned on the counter. “Normally, I would. This time, though, I’m serious.”

“Good thing you told me or I could have blown you off because of your normal jokes.” Nagisa griped as he stood to get their order. “I’ll be right back.” Picking up the ring and sliding it on, Nagisa relished Karma choke of surprise. Picking up their order, Nagisa carried it back to the counter before picking up his burger and taking a bite. Looking over, Nagisa saw Karma’s grin as the man grabbed his hand. “I love you.”  
“Love you too, now let me eat.” Nagisa grabbed a few fries and downed them when a realization hit. “Wait, is this why you want to talk to your parents?”

“Yeah.” Karma confirmed as he took a sip of his drink. “I…don’t know what to say to them, but I want them to know?”

“Fair enough. You can probably expect my parents to rush us when they find out.” Nagisa took another bite of his food. “I mean, we could always just go to the courthouse and then throw a huge party to invite them to. It would save us cash and save you the headache of trying to get your parents to listen by having it be a done deal.”

“You wouldn’t mind that?” Karma chewed over the idea. “I wasn’t sure how you’d want to do this with the whole ‘dead but not really’ thing. Given that I’m a public figure, it could be dangerous.”

“I mean, having a lot of attention on me is not something I look for. But with you being a big important political figure, I don’t know that we want to go through the whole rigamarole of a wedding. Too much attention. But if I’m going to be your husband I’m going to be seen once in a while. I might as well get used to keeping my guard up for those moments. Besides, those things are expensive. We could just throw a huge party at my house for the cost of a wedding and have a better time. We get my parents to serve as witnesses, and maybe a few of your friends. Then we throw a party where we control who gets in and who doesn’t. Sound good?”

“You’re perfect, you know that?” Karma said, reaching out to snag a few more fries as they finished their meal.

“Perfect for you, maybe.” Nagisa said, finishing off his shake. “Anyway, let’s get out of here. I think we need to talk about this where there aren’t any prying eyes or ears.”

Karma stood, picking up his jacket from the stool. “Good idea.” Walking quickly so he was plastered to Nagisa’s back, Karma wrapped his arms around shoulders in a tight hug. “It also means I can touch you and no one can stop me.”

Nagisa laughed as he palmed the keys from Karma’s pocket. “With all your blood rushing away from that skull of yours, I’ll drive home.”

Karma’s laughter was rich as they walked out of the eatery. “Oh, come on. You’re hornier than I am normally.”

“Yes, but I control it better.” Nagisa shot back, shoving Karma off of him as he unlocked the car. “The faster we get home, the faster we can toss off the clothes.”

Karma’s grin was bright. “I like the way you think.”

“I know, now get in the car.” Nagisa offered a grin as Karma scrambled around the truck.

Karma swung in to the passenger’s seat with his usual grace. “Let’s go home.”

Backing out, Nagisa paused as another car drove behind them in the parking lot. “So, who do we tell first?”

“Nakamura.” Karma said, reaching for his phone. “I’ll tell her about the engagement and see if she’ll come visit. If not… we may have to tell her via webcam.”

“We lock down the house after if that’s the case.” Nagisa teased, then winced as he switched lanes. “She’s going to be so mad at me.”

“She’ll understand…. eventually.” Karma carefully didn’t meet Nagisa’s gaze when he offered a skeptical snort. “I know. It’s going to be hell to pay, but it was meant to keep us all safe. And most of the upper management has been murdered in jail. So that plan worked out better than we thought.”

Karma’s laughter filled the cab of the truck before he sobered. “True. Do you feel safe enough to let the others know now?”

“I think it’s safe. It’s been enough time. The company has been busy with other problems, too. Enough that I’m willing to let the others know. If nothing else, they’d go after me and you first. And we can take them.” Nagisa said, focusing on the road ahead of him. “I’ve made sure to keep up my conditioning for that reason. And I’ve retrained you.”

Karma flicked Nagisa’s arm. “Hey, I was plenty trained.”

“Yes, but you were rusty.” Nagisa said, watching Karma’s eyes narrow at him. “What? I’m right.”

“We’ll agree to disagree, babe.” Karma turned to the radio. “But I’ll let it go for now.”

Offering a smile, Nagisa let the music fill the car as they finished the drive home. When they got home, Karma scooped Nagisa up on his shoulder and carried him up to the bedroom. “I’ll show you trained.”

Laughing as the dogs danced around them, Nagisa gave in. “Show me, then.”

As it happened, the two weren’t able to make their video call until the following Friday. Karma was the one to make the call as he sat at the couch. “Hey. Have some news.”

Nakamura’s gleeful chuckle came through. “Did you do it??”

“Yeah, and he said yes.” Karma flashed his companion to Nagisa’s ring. A stainless-steel ring with a blue stripe in the middle.

“YES! I get to meet him. Call him over, don’t let him weasel out!” Nakamura said, and Nagisa had to laugh at the face Karma made.

“’Oh, Karma. That’s great. Congratulations! I’m so happy for both you and your fiancée!’” Karma waved Nagisa over. “Listen, as soon as we can, we plan on heading to the courthouse and tying the knot. You’ll be able to meet him after we get done.”

“Why would I not be able to meet him until after???” Nakamura demanded, voice raising.

“Look, it for our safety and yours. I promise you; you can meet him when we throw the reception party. Just trust me, OK?” Karma held up a hand as an enraged Nakamura screamed.

“What the hell?! I’ve been waiting for so long and how is it dangerous for your fiancée to meet me?” Nakamura demanded, voice breaking. “Do you not trust me?”

Seeing Karma struggle under the crushing weight of hurting a friend, Nagisa wished desperately for things to be different. _It’s for their safety. If we reveal that I’m alive, it could be dangerous for everyone._

_But with most of the top members of my company gone, it’s way less likely to happen, and it’s not as if Nakamura would broadcast that I was alive. I think…._

Not giving it a second thought, Nagisa brushed forward to lean over the couch and come into view of the webcam. “I mean, we could use some help with planning the party. Someone who’s a little closer to our friends in Japan.”

“Nagi..” Karma reached up to brace his lover as Nagisa pressed a kiss to his lover’s cheek.

“Na….” Nakamura’s face was pale on screen. “What?”

“Yeah…. Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated?” Nagisa offered up a small smile. “I’m sorry, I was doing it to keep everyone safe. Witness protection is a bitch.”

Nakamura’s eyes spilled over in seconds as she leaned forward. “You’re alive?”

“I am, but that needs to remain a secret.” Nagisa reiterated as he held up a finger. “Hang on, this is a little uncomfortable.” Standing back up and walking around the couch to join Karma on it, Nagisa sat down. “Now, I’m sorry.”

Nakamura shook her head. “I’m going to murder you! You pull this shit not once but twice??”

“Again, it was to keep everyone safe. With my coming out of the assassinship, it meant I was going to be a target—as would anyone who was close to me. I couldn’t keep everyone safe—hell, couldn’t even keep Karma safe standing next to me.” Looking to meet Karma’s golden gaze, Nagisa felt his fears flash through him. “I would have risked all your lives if I’d stayed in my previous identity. I couldn’t handle it if I’d ended up killing any of you, or if I ended up hurting anyone you chose to bring into your lives. I told my parents that I’d probably be leaving, and they chose to go with me. Thus, it would satisfy both my company and make it so you’d be safe. This asshole here figured it out, though.” Elbowing Karma, Nagisa flashed a grin. “I was pissed when he showed up.”

Karma’s grumblings about an “Ungrateful shrimp who doesn’t appreciate all I went through” were ignored as Nagisa met Nakamura’s gaze through the webcam. “But with most of the upper management having been killed in jail, I’m trusting you enough to not tip your hand. I want to tell everyone, but when they’re here and it’s less likely to be dangerous. Webcams can be hacked, and emails can be seen by eyes they weren’t meant for. I’m trusting you, and the fact that you shouldn’t be watched will help.”

“What about Karma?” Nakamura asked, eyes wide. “Wouldn’t he be watched?”

“Maybe, which is why I’m going to leave here in a second. If you would, though, I would like it if I could count on you for help. Scheduling this will be difficult without someone who’s closer to the others.” Offering a small smile, Nagisa stood. “I’ll let you guys discuss the rest. As for me, I’ve got class in the morning. Good night.”

Reaching to tilt Karma’s chin, Nagisa pressed a fast kiss to his lips before moving away. Walking upstairs, Nagisa switched into his Pjs and laid down. Listening to Karma talking downstairs, muffled as it was through the door, Nagisa let himself smile as he drifted off to sleep.

The next two months flew by as Nagisa and Karma got their marriage license and tied the knot at the courthouse. While they worked out the snags of their reception party, Karma smiled as the two readied themselves. “You excited?”

“Nervous…happy, but nervous. I don’t know how Nakamura managed to convince everyone, but she did. When is she getting here? You said she came in early.” Nagisa asked as he pulled on the button-up shirt over top of his band t-shirt.

“She should be here soon.” Karma confirmed as he checked his phone. “She texted that she was getting a ride-share out here about an hour ago.”

Hearing a knock on their front door and the dogs going off, Nagisa let out a laugh as he walked out of the room. “I’ll get it.”

Walking downstairs, Nagisa coached himself. _It’s OK. She’s a friend. She won’t attack you. She isn’t as angry anymore._

“Hey, guys. Easy, down. Friend.” Commanding Ranger and Hunter gently, Nagisa opened the door to see Nakamura in set of denim capris and a loose yellow off-the shoulder top showing off her tan. Staring at each other for a second, Nagisa and Nakamura met in the middle as they embraced each other.

“I…I thought we’d lost you again.” Nakamura said, her blue eyes filling with tears that spilled over onto Nagisa’s shoulder. “And now I’m finding out that you ended up with the two of you are fucking like rabbits as it was predestined.”

Snorting, Nagisa shoved at her shoulder. “All these years and you’re still crass as ever.”

“That’s me! Admit it, you missed me.” Pulling back so they could look each other in the eyes, the two friends smiled.

Pulling Nakamura into a hug again, Nagisa let out a bit of a huff. “I was so scared that you were going to be mad at me.”

“Oh, I was enraged. Stabbed my punching bag so many times that I had to buy a new one.” Squeezing Nagisa’s ribs uncomfortably, she grinned up with a smile that was a bit off kilter before blowing out a breath and releasing him. “But I understand it now. I’m just going to enjoy the righteous anger of the others tonight.”

At the reminder that everyone else in their class that was coming—most were able to make it, given that they’d had advanced warning—Nagisa felt himself pale. “I’m so glad I have an escape route out if necessary.”

Hearing Ranger huff a polite, ‘woo?’ when he sensed Nagisa’s nerves.

Turning to the dog, Nagisa knelt down. “Friend. It’s OK.”

Nakamura’s gaze turned to the dogs. “I think I recognize these babies.” Kneeling down, she offered her hand to the dog to sniff. When Ranger indulged her, she carefully lifted her hand to run over the dog’s ears. After she’d introduced herself, she stood back up. “Now, where’s that red-head?”

“Hey, Rio.” Karma said, walking down the stairs. “I see you look as weird as ever.”

Flipping Karma off, Nakamura moved to embrace the man. “Jerk. Anyway, let’s get everything set up. And, by the way…”

Backing up, Nakamura grabbed both husbands. “Congratulations, both of you. I’m so happy for you.”

Wrapping their arms around their friend, the men looked to each other with a fond gaze.

_I love you._ Wrinkling his nose at his husband, Nagisa smiled.

Karma’s fast blink and genuine grin replied. _Love you, too._

Over the next three hours, the three prepped the snacks they wanted for the party and carried them out to the tent and tables set up out back. The meal was being catered, and the caterers arrived a half-hour before the party started. Having vetted everyone there, Nagisa watched with hawks’ eyes as he made sure no one who entered his home was an assassin in disguise as the caterers worked to get everything set up. 

“Geeze, kiddo. Calm down.” Smog teased, rubbing a hand over the man’s scalp. “You’re safe. Mary and I are here, and so is that husband of yours.”

“Mmm, I would think that you would know better than anyone that I will not let anyone who I can’t verify into my house. After all, another poisoner like yourself would be deadly.” Nagisa turned and offered his adopted second father a grin. “I’m just glad you could make it.”

“Oh, kiddo. I’m so happy for you. And besides, I wouldn’t miss out on a chance to annoy your mom and dad.” Smog turned to the couple in question. “Anyway, how are you two?”

Smog moved off to talk to Nagisa’s parents as Nagisa felt arms wrap around his waist as Karma’s familiar scent flooded his nose. Feeling a kiss pressed to the nape of his neck, Nagisa smiled. “Hi, babe.”

“Hi, handsome.” Karma’s chest met against Nagisa’s back. “You doing OK?”

“A bit nervous. This is the biggest event I’ve ever had at my house, and…” Gesturing to the catering, Nagisa looked back with a shrug. “I guess I’m a little on edge.”

Dropping his voice so Nagisa was the only to hear him, Karma reassured him. “Easy, Nagisa. It’s OK. We checked and rechecked all of the employees and we checked IDs and faces when they got here. No one will harm anyone, and you are safe. I promise you.”

Leaning back into the embrace, Nagisa did his best to let go of his worries. “It’s not that I do not trust you—it’s that…”

“It’s that you know that an assassin could strike from anywhere, any time.” Karma finished the age-old refrain. “I know. Trust me?”

“More than anything in the world.” Nagisa responded.

“Love me?” Karma asked, voice dropping an octave as he held his husband to his chest.

Laughing a bit, Nagisa gave the same reply. “More than anything in the world.”

“Good. Now, the others should be arriving. Starting with….” Karma grimaced as he looked toward the crepe-paper lined path that circled the edge of the house. “My parents.”

Letting his head fall back, Nagisa shot a grin up. “If they tick you off, I’ll get rid of them.”

“I know.” Karma’s normally unflappable attitude seemed dimmed as he looked up the path. “I just wish…”

“I know.” Nagisa soothed as he ran a hand over Karma’s arm.

Sighing, Karma stepped back. “I want a drink.”

“Hard or soft?” Nagisa asked, turning toward the coolers.

Hearing the crunch of gravel that indicated a car arriving, Nagisa reached to gently grasp Karma’s arm. “You OK?”

Karma’s unsure expression smoothed out when he felt Nagisa’s hand in his. “Yeah. Just nervous.”

“Trust me?” Nagisa teased, tightening his grip as the sound of footsteps seemed to break their bubble.

“More than anything in the world.” Karma’s eyes were melted gold when he looked to his husband, breaking his eyes away from the path.

“Good thing.” Nagisa teased as Professor Bitch—carrying her nearly two-year-old—and Agent Karasuma came around the corner. “Because it looks like it’s my turn to be in trouble first.”

Professor Bitch was staring, thought process open. “Na….”

Rushing forward with Karasuma on her heels, she stopped in front of the newlyweds. “You two are going to explain. NOW.”

Augri’s small voice was the next to speak. “Pretty.”

Nagisa and Karma looked to each other before bursting out laughing as Nagisa turned to Professor Bitch. “She’s yours, alright.”

Professor Bitch tried not to smile as her eyes welled up. Tilting her chin up to force the tears back, she snarled. “You two better explain, now.”

“I couldn’t keep everyone safe if I’d stayed.” Nagisa said, looking away as he imagined the blood that would’ve been drawn had he stayed.

Professor Bitch’s face relaxed into her usual resting face. “Makes sense. But why come out now?”

Eyeing the toddler, Nagisa phrased the next statement carefully. “Because their ‘life’ sentences happened a whole lot faster than I thought they would.”

Karasuma—who’d been quite up to this point—raised an eyebrow. “You’re still risking a lot.”

“I trust you guys. And given that we’re married now, I’ll probably be in the spotlight a lot more. We didn’t want you guys to find out that way.” Nagisa offered a small smile.

Professor Bitch clutched her daughter before gently lowering the kicking toddler down. Rushing forward, she pulled Nagisa to her. “I….”

Tears spilled. Nagisa simply wrapped his arms around the woman and sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Karasuma’s eyes were suspiciously wet as well. “We’re glad you’re OK. Just expect us to call you more.”

Nagisa offered up a smile. “I wouldn’t mind.”

“The others are going to try to eat you alive.” Professor Bitch said, leaning back on her heels to smile. “It’s going to be fun to watch.”

“Gee, thanks.” Nagisa grumbled. “It’s Nate, by the way.”

Karasuma snorted, before his subtle smile “We’re happy for you two.”

Professor Bitch seemed to realize. “Wait, it’s you two?”

“Who else?” Karma teased, wrapping an arm around Nagisa.

“I mean, I shouldn’t be surprised. Still, congrats.” Professor Bitch reached up to rub away tears. “But I’m still going to give you two hell.”

Letting out a small chuckle, Nagisa noticed two people he didn’t recognize join them. Elbowing Karma, he shot a glance toward the path.

Karma’s grin died as his gaze hardened. That was the only clue Nagisa got before the man and woman rushed the small group, pushing past Professor Bitch and Agent Karasuma. Luckily for them, they minded the small toddler and carefully stepped around the baby.

Backing up a few steps, Karma let the man grab him by the collar. “What is the meaning of this?” The man snarled, clutching Karma’s collar in his fists.  
“Dad. What do you mean?” Karma’s tone was measured, careful.

“How can you disgrace our family by marrying another man?” His father screamed, as the woman shot a disdained look at Nagisa.

Blinking, Nagisa looked to Karma’s expression. _What does he want me to do?_

Reaching for Karma’s hand, Nagisa let his assassin’s instincts take over, carefully moving between Karma and his father with a small smile on his face. “Excuse me, please let go of him. And apologize to our teachers, whom you trampled.”

The man’s face went tomato-red. “You’re the fag my son married, correct?”

“I am your sons husband, yes.” Letting his smile harden, Nagisa carefully took a step forward. “Now, I’d ask you to speak politely—there is a child present. I’m sure her parents would prefer that she not learn such awful words so early.” Pointedly looking toward the Karasumas, Nagisa reached to pick up the toddler.

Augri willingly climbed into his arms with a coo. Laying her head down on Nagisa’s shoulders, her tiny fingers went to his hair. “Pretwy.”

Nagisa felt his chest melt, and looked back to see Karma also smiling, but it had an anxious angry edge to it. Raising an eyebrow, Nagisa wrinkled his nose. _Did I do the wrong thing?_ He asked, silently.

Karma gave a minute shake of his head. _No, I just…._

The silent conversation was cut off as Karma’s father moved toward Nagisa with a malevolent glare. “How dare you, you piece of…”

Slamming his free hand to the man’s chin, Nagisa put enough force behind his arm to cause the man’s teeth to clack painfully together. “I asked politely once—I will not do so again. You are on my property and I will ask you to leave.” Moving carefully, Nagisa gently handed off Augri to her father. Carefully keeping his back to goad the man, Nagisa offered a smile to the Karasumas—one that warned them to keep out of the way. “Anyway, as guests, I would ask you to mind yourselves. If you can’t, I will escort you out.”

Hearing the man’s tread on the grass, Nagisa carefully waited until the moment was perfect. Feeling the man’s hand grasping for his shoulder. Letting the man get a grip on him, Nagisa used the leverage of the man’s hold to spin and wrap him in a flying triangle hold to take him down.

The man was obviously unprepared for a gay man to have been trained enough to execute such a hold. Using his momentum, Nagisa knocked the man to the ground and reached for his one security blanket he’d never been able to quite quit. Unleashing one of his fangs, Nagisa gently held the weapon steady and stared into the man’s eyes. “I will not let you hurt him. In any way. Your son is an amazing person and I am lucky to have him in my life. You are here because you are his birth parents. He loves you, even when it’s clear that you’re a duo of negligent parents who left their son to figure out his own path.”

The man’s face went puce. “You are an abomination. Marriage is meant to bring children into this world.”

“Well, then.” Karma’s voice broke through Nagisa’s bloodlust. “I think you’ve said enough. Sweetheart, if you wouldn’t mind letting him go, I would prefer to deal with him. And besides, the others are starting to stare.”

Looking up at Karma, Nagisa rolled off to the side to let the man stand, remaining in a crouched position as the man took in a few breaths. Backing off, Nagisa glared at the woman who was now staring in open fear and disgust.

She spoke, startling both of them. “How can you love that gremlin? He’s obviously dangerous.”

Nagisa couldn’t keep in the laughter at that thought. “Honey, you don’t know the half of it.” Standing, he moved out of range as Karma took his place near his parents.

Looking over at the path, Nagisa felt an embarrassed flush flow through him as he caught sight of the majority of class 3-e standing, surprised. “Uh…”

“YOU”RE ALIVE?” A harmony of angry voices asked, and Nagisa felt his stomach shrink. _I’ll leave Karma to his battles and go for my own._ Taking a deep breath and sheathing his fang, he walked over with a smile. “I am.”

The group rushed him, pulling him in.

“You ASSHOLE.” Terasaka snarled, thumping his fist against Nagisa’s skull. “We thought….”

“That I was gone?” Nagisa reached up to rub at the sore spot on his head. “Technically, Shiota Nagisa is. My name is Nathan Sharpe.”

Terasaka growled. “I’m not calling you that, dipshit.” Wrapping an arm around the man’s shoulders, he hauled Nagisa up. “Don’t vanish again.”

Nagisa offered up a grin. “I don’t plan on it. I just wanted everyone safe.”

Sugino spoke, voice flat and hurt. “How could you think that this would be something good?”

“Because it was either I die, or you guys play the part of the bloodied corpses. I would choose almost anything over that.” Nagisa spoke quietly, reaching out to his friend.

Sugino shook his head. “This isn’t something you can fix with words. I’ll need some time.”

“I understand.” Taking a step back, Nagisa turned to a few of the others. “Have I hurt everything between all of us?” The painful potential that he’d harmed his relationships with these family members forever—as they’d been since middle school—dug into Nagisa’s heart.

A few shy glances, angry ones and livid ones passed in silence among the constituents of 3-E that had arrived.

After a few moments, the group looked at Nagisa. “Give us a few moments?”

“Sure.” Nagisa said, carefully distancing himself from the group and going over to his parents.

“What’s up?” Hiromi asked, looking over at the group. “Everything alright?”

“Yeah.” Nagisa said, pasting on a smile. “Everything’s fine. They’re just adjusting to the fact that I’m alive.”

Hiromi’s eyes went soft, concern and love filling them. “They’re not taking it well, are they?”

“No, they’re not.” Nagisa confirmed, doing his best to keep the pain from spiking at his heart. “They’re more than a little angry with me.”

“That’s not unexpected.” His dad chimed in, and Smog nodded.

“They’ll come around, kiddo.” Smog said, reaching out. “I know they will. You’re too charismatic to have anything else happen.”

“It is what’s kept me alive.” Nagisa said, glancing over to see Karma’s father lash out and punch Karma. “Oh, hell no.”

Bolting to Karma’s side, Nagisa and Nakamura met as they skidded to a halt at Karma’s side. Nagisa caught the dogs by their collars as they lunged toward Karma’s parents, carefully using his code. “Hold.”

The dogs froze, growling and maintaining a death glare.

“Karma.” Nakamura said, gently turning his head so he faced them.

Blood slowly trickled down his face. “They got me good.”

“Is it broken?” Nagisa asked, feeling some of his body go cold.

“No, dun’t thnk so.” Karma tilted his head back, trying to stem the blood flow.“’Ust blody.” Nagisa’s parents joined them, handing Karma a few napkins and glaring at Karma’s parents before looking to Nagisa.

Shaking his head, Nagisa shot them a fast smile. _No, we’re good. You can go back to the party. We’ll be there in a moment._

Hiromi reached out, gently brushed a hand over Karma’s shoulder in gentle comfort before they returned to their table. Taking a deep breath, Nagisa looked to Karma. “Do you want them here?”

Karma raised an eyebrow silently, and then shook his head slowly. “This was their last chance.”  
“Excellent.” Nagisa held his hands to his sides before speaking to the dogs. “Guard. Escort.”

The dogs began to snarl, moving toward the couple who were now backing up as if their lives depended on it.   
“Call off your mutts.” The man demanded, and Nagisa relished in the ability to simply shake his head.

“No. You attacked one of their owners, and they’re trained guard dogs. I’m asking you to leave before I decide to unleash them.” Turning back to Karma, Nagisa guided him toward a seat. “And you sit down. It’ll be easier to manage.”

Karma rolled his eyes, somehow still sassy with blood trickling into the tissue. “It’ss slowing dowwn.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m going to escort them out.” Turning back to the rapidly fleeing couple, Nagisa followed his dogs at a sedate pace as he rounded the house. “Hunter, Ranger. Guard house.”

The dogs moved to the front door, still rumbling with angry growls. Looking to the man an women who were taking a few fast breaths, Nagisa approached. “You will never again contact him.”

The man glared. “We wouldn’t want to.”

“Good. Get off my land. Have a pleasant flight home. I hope you know what you’ve lost.” Nagisa watched as the man and women climbed into their car and followed them as they backed out of sight of the private road that was his driveway. When he was unable to see their headlights through the trees, he let out a long breath before moving to the front porch. “OK, inside. Good boys.”

The dogs followed, still checking to make sure their humans would be OK as Nagisa let them inside. Once they sensed the lack of the couple, they relaxed a bit as Nagisa carefully doled out treats and pets to the two huskies. “Good boys. Good job.”

Because he was still unsettled, he sat next to the counter and scrubbed his hands over Ranger’s fur. “I messed up, huh?”

Ranger—still eating his treats—didn’t respond beyond crunching on his milk bone. Giving in to his nerves, Nagisa gently let his head loll to the side to meet the huskie’s shoulder. “Good boy.”

Giving himself a few moments, Nagisa stood and walked out the back door to rejoin the party.

The party had gotten back into swing of things, with Class 3-E and Karma were all talking with food that had been distributed. Sitting down on the edge of the porch as he took it in, Nagisa let his gaze wander over all of his classmates and family. Seeing Karma glance over at him and raise an eyebrow. Offering a slight smile, Nagisa gathered up his courage to go to Karma. “Hey, you OK?”

Karma reached out, pulled Nagisa to his side for a moment. “Yeah. I’m good.”

“Cool.” Saying little else, Nagisa simply listened as the others all started to talk excitedly to Karma. Enjoying how happy it made Karma to have everyone there, Nagisa pushed down on his own sadness about having broken the bond between himself and his friends. While they did start to relax a bit more, Nagisa could sense the glances and looks that were sent his way when he’d turn to look at the doors. _I know this is for both of us, but I wish I could go in and let him talk. It’s hard, knowing how badly I screwed up. But…_ Watching Karma animate over an argument about the best One Piece episode with Fuwa. _He wants me here, so I’ll stay close._

Hearing the scratch of claws on the wooden frame of the back door, Nagisa quietly slipped away from his table and let the dogs out. Using a few sly hand signs, Nagisa set the dogs at ease. When he rejoined Karma, Nagisa felt Ranger brush against him and move to Karma with a gentle ‘woo?”

Karma’s face lit up, reaching down to brush the dog’s ears as he continued to talk.

“Nagisa?” Sugino’s voice came. “How long have you had those dogs?”

Surprised, Nagisa looked up as he recognized the gesture. _He’s reaching out?_ Offering up a small grin, Nagisa gently reached to pet Hunter who’d come up to him as well.

“I got Ranger about three and a half years ago, and Hunter came about a year ago.” Nagisa smiled down as the blond dog put a paw on his leg. “Ranger was partially trained when I got him—Hunter wasn’t. He’s still mostly not trained, thanks to someone undermining my efforts to not feed him human food. He’s gotten…” Nagisa laughed when suddenly Hunter stood, using his paw as leverage to stand taller than Nagisa. “Wily when it comes to food.”

Everyone else laughed, a bit awkwardly but that was better than the quiet silence. After that, Nagisa sensed that the others were slowly coming to terms that he was still there.

After the ice broke, the entire class started to talk with Nagisa. The night flew by and soon enough the party was winding down. Standing off to the side as Karma waved goodbye to the last group, Nagisa observed until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he found the baseball player standing next to him. “Hey.”

“Hey. Don’t die on me again, and you’re forgiven.” Sugino was quiet, calm with a bit of a smile. “And come see a game or two when you two come to Japan.”

“Deal.” Nagisa agreed, looking up at his friend. “Hopefully we’ll see you soon.”

Karma came up, wrapping an arm around his husband. “Lord knows I’m not going to go home when we come in.”

Leaning into the embrace, Nagisa grinned. “And with my parents here, that makes it so we wouldn’t be visiting them there.”

Karma’s small smile warmed over his husband. “We’ll let you know the next time we visit.” Tilting Nagisa’s chin up to kiss him, Karma met his gaze. “What’ya say, baby? Maybe we can visit sometime next year?”

“Sure. Sounds good.” Pressing close, Nagisa watched as Sugino waved and vanished into his car. “Love you.”

“Love you, too. I’m tired, what about you?” Karma yawned as they walked inside and closed the front door. Quietly setting the security system, Nagisa nodded. “I am. Let me just check that everything is locked up and that we’re good.”

“Mmm.” Karma muttered, walking up the stairs.

Running through a fast check, Nagisa followed his husband upstairs. Seeing Karma curled up under the covers, waiting for him, Nagisa smiled. _I never thought I’d get here._

Sliding under the covers on his side, Nagisa curled close to Karma. The warmth of his presence lulled Nagisa to sleep. _This isn’t entirely perfect, but it’s perfect enough for me._


End file.
